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THE MASTERY OF 
BEING 

A STUDY OF THE ULTIMATE PRINCIPLE 
OF REALITY, AND THE PRACTICAL 
APPLICATION THEREOF 

BY 

WILLIAM WALKER ATKINSON 


“The conscious recognition of Identity with SPIRIT, 
by the intellect, constitutes the Perception of Truth; its 
conscious realization by the intuition, constitutes Illu¬ 
mination ; its conscious manifestation and demonstration 
by volition and ideation, constitute the Mastery of Being.” 


PUBLISHED BY 

THE ELIZABETH TOWNE COMPANY 

HOLYOKE, MASS. 

1911 











Copyright, September, 1911, 
by Elizabeth Towne. 






Contents, 


Part I.—Reality. 


Chapter 

I. 

The Quest for Truth . 


Page 

5 

II. 

Basic Principles of Reality 


9 

III. 

Axioms of Reality .... 


. 18 

IV. 

Axioms of Reality (continued) 


. 30 

V. 

Axioms of Reality (continued) 

# 

. 40 

VI. 

Axioms of Reality (concluded) 

• 

. 50 

VII. 

Part II.— Spirit. 

Reality is Spirit .... 


60 

VIII. 

The Substance of Spirit 

# 

67 

IX. 

The Energy, Life, and Law of Spirit 

74 

X. 

The Mind of Spirit 

. 

82 

? XI. 

The Mind of Spirit (continued) . 

. 

90 

XII. 

The Mind of Spirit (continued) . 

. 

99 

XIII. 

The Mind of Spirit (concluded) . 

• 

. 105 

XIV. 

Part III. —Manifestation. 

The Eternal Manifestation 


. Ill 

XV. 

The Phenomenal Universe . 


. 122 

XVI. 

The Nature of Creation . 


. 132 

XVII. 

Practical Idealism 


. 140 

XVIII. 

The Creation of Nature . 


. 146 

XIX. 

Law and Change .... 


. 154 

XX. 

Immanent Spirit .... 


. 160 

XXI. 

Creative Power of Thought 


A 171 
. \ 178 

XXII. 

Identity with Spirit 











































Part I.—REALITY. 


CHAPTER I. 

The Quest For Truth. 

T HERE is an ancient Oriental fable which runs 
as follows: There was once a fabulously rich 
potentate, who died bequeathing all his prop¬ 
erty to Yusef, his favorite slave, with the one reserva¬ 
tion that each of his sons was to be allowed to select 
some one thing of value, which should be set aside from 
the residue of the estate for the son to have and to hold 
forever, with all appertaining thereto. The sons each 
selected some one valuable piece of property. The 
eldest selected the royal palace; the second, the famed 
hanging gardens; the third, the jeweled peacock throne 
bestudded with precious stones of great value, and so 
on. Each son made his choice, and yet each bewailed 
the fact that the great bulk of the potentate’s posses¬ 
sions must pass into the hands of Yusef the slave. 

Awaiting his turn sat the youngest son, a mere strip¬ 
ling. When his elder brothers had each made his 
choice, and the time of the youngest had come, he 
turned to the executors, saying: “I choose Yusef the 



6 


TEE MASTERY OF BEING. 


slave!” A cry of wonder and admiration went up from 
the assembled judges, courtiers, and soldiery, for the 
stripling youth had displayed the greatest mental keen¬ 
ness and cunning. He had chosen as his one piece of 
property the favorite slave to whom the potentate had 
bequeathed the bulk of his estate. As the will pro¬ 
vided that with each piece of property chosen by the 
sons should also go “all appertaining thereto,” the 
owner of the slave thus became owner of the enormous 
possessions forming the residuary bulk of the estate. 
Under the law the slave’s possessions became the prop¬ 
erty of the owner of the slave. By owning the slave 
the lad became the owner of all except the comparatively 
trifling things that the brothers had chosen. He had 
chosen the only possible thing which, when owned, 
made him the owner of all the rest of real and per¬ 
manent value. 

And so, in the spirit of the allegory, the attainment 
of the knowledge of REALITY causes one to become 
the attainer of All Truth, for All Truth is included in v 
the content thereof. REALITY is the “one thing 
which, when known, all is known.” It is the primal 
and elemental Truth-of-All-Truth. 

The Path of Attainment. 

Truth is discovered only by those who have the 


TEE MASTERY OF BEING. 


7 


courage, faith, and persistency to climb the steep Path 
of Attainment; by those who brave the rocky, narrow 
footpath; by those who are appalled not when they 
gaze down upon the canyons far beneath them, seeing 
the multitude of crawling, creeping things that look 
like tiny ants—the world of men living on the lower 
planes of thought. A clear head, steady nerves, sound 
lungs, strong muscles, and sure feet are needed by him 
who would attain the heights. Do you possess these? 

Have you the courage to leave behind you all pre¬ 
conceived notions, superstitions, and prejudices of finite 
life? Have you the intellectual daring which alone 
will enable you to make foot places along the jagged 
cliffs in which your feet must be placed one after the 
other as you mount higher and higher? Have you the 
persistency which will cause you to proceed thus, step 
by step, mounting higher and higher toward Truth 
without becoming dizzy when you chance to look down¬ 
ward over the immense distances which you have trav¬ 
ersed? Have you the constancy which will enable you 
to look upward and not downward, forward and not 
backward, on the Path, caring for naught except to 
reach the summit of the highest peak of the mountain 
of Truth? 

If you have these, 0 Seeker! then are you invited to 
participate in the Quest for Truth, in the Inquiry for 


8 


THE MASTERY OF BEING . 


ULTIMATE REALITY, which is SPIRIT. You are 
invited to pursue the quest for this underlying, funda¬ 
mental, actual, enduring, absolute Truth, this Ultimate 
Verity—REALITY. The journey is long, arduous, and 
tedious. Its path is strewn with jagged rocks, which 
torment and bruise the feet of the intellect. Its grade 
is steep, and the traveler ofttimes loses his breath and 
feels insecure of his footing. His head swims and be¬ 
comes dizzy. The spiritual air is very rare, and the 
unaccustomed lungs of thought pant with the unusual 
exertion. For remember, the Path of Knowledge lead¬ 
ing to the recognition and realization of REALITY 
winds around the sides of the steepest and highest 
mountain of human mentation. He who reaches its 
summit—he who gains its highest peak—has found 
“that which, when known, all things are known.” 


CHAPTER II. 


Basic Principles of Reality. 

T HINKING men and women have ever meditated 
upon the nature, meaning, and reason of the 
Universe and of the Self. Beneath the pop¬ 
ular creeds, philosophies, and dogmas of his particular 
time and place, man has always felt there must exist 
an inner Truth which, if known, would make all else 
intelligible. Hence the endless search for REALITY 
w'hich has distinguished thinking men and women in 
all ages and all lands. Hence the ever present queries: 
“What am I?” “Whence come I?” “What is the 
object of my existence?” Hence the eternal “Why?” 
on the lips of thinkers of the past and present, in every 
clime, in every civilization, and among every people 
of the race. 


Reality. 

“REALITY” is a term used by philosophers to 
designate that SOMETHING which is fixed, eternal, 
and unchangeable, and which underlies the universe of 
changing forms, shapes, and conditions of things, and 
which is the primal cause of them. Perhaps the best 


10 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


and clearest definition of REALITY—as the term is 
used in philosophy—is the following:— 

“REALITY is that which does or may exist by 
itself, and is not considered as forming part of any 
other thing!* 

Anything that does not answer the above definition 
is held by philosophy to be non-reality, or mere appear¬ 
ance. 

Reason. 

While there have been some who have held that man 
can never hope to know aught regarding REALITY 
by the exercise of his reason, nevertheless the wise in 
all ages and all lands have held the inquiry to be 
legitimate and proper, maintaining that there is no 
finite limit to the reach of the human reason. This 
has been the report of the reason of the wisest of the 
race, as we may discover by a study of the philosophic 
thought of the past and present. 

“There is no scientific problem which we may dare 
to say the mind of man will never solve; no mystery 
so deep or profound; no question has or ever mil be 
ashed but a mind or brain will be evolved capable of 
solving and answering.** — Haeckel. 

“If it becomes essential for mankind to know, infi¬ 
nite nature will evolve an organ of mind that can 
comprehend.** — Stevens. 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


11 


Intuition. 

In addition to reason, the faculty with and by which 
man forms judgments regarding phenomenal facts, 
there exists the faculty of intuition or direct knowl¬ 
edge of the inner facts of life, which is a higher phase 
of perception, and by which man receives more or less 
clear reports regarding the inner verities of his being. 
The perception of intuition is examined and passed 
upon by the reason, is associated and correlated to the 
report of the latter, and a new judgment—an intuitive- 
intellectual judgment—is formed and becomes a part 
of the “belief” of the man. Man, trusting to his intu¬ 
ition, and combining the perception thereof with the 
purely intellectual reports, is enabled to reach a higher 
consciousness of BEING than is possible by purely 
intellectual processes alone, or by pure intuition alone. 

A Glimpse of the Heights. 

In these lessons we shall ask you to consider certain 
fundamental reports of the reason, and the conclusions 
arising therefrom. In order that you may understand 
that which the Axioms of REALITY are designed to 
unfold into your conscious recognition,—that you may 
see in advance the aim and goal of the journey,—we 
invite you to carefully consider the following Funda- 


12 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


mental Postulate in which is condensed the spirit of 
the basic teaching embodied in these lessons. A “Pos¬ 
tulate” is “something asserted, to which assent is chal¬ 
lenged or demanded.” 

In the Axioms of REALITY, and the teaching based 
thereon in the following lessons, the points covered by 
the Fundamental Postulate will be unfolded gradually, 
argued logically, and the reports of reason stated. In 
the Fundamental Postulate we are afforded a glimpse 
of the Path over which we shall travel, and the heights 
which we shall attain. In the Axioms of REALITY 
we have the various ledges or planes of the inquiry. 
Step by step we shall advance on the Path. Each 
Axiom affords a resting place and a halt. The stu¬ 
dent should master each step, and never leave the 
resting place of any Axiom until he has fully ac¬ 
quainted himself with it and associated it with those 
which precede it. 

Fundamental Postulate. 

I. There exists an ultimate, infinite, and eternal 
principle of REALITY which is the essence, nature, 
substance, and principle of All-that-IS. This principle 
of REALITY is the certain Something which abides, 
invariable and constant, as the essential principle in all 
things, all creatures, all entities, all beings, and which 


THE MASTERY OF BEING . 


13 


precedes and survives all their changes of form, shape, 
state, and condition. This principle ever remains 
itself, notwithstanding the infinite and eternal change 
in form, shape, state, and condition in which it may 
occur, appear, or present itself. This ultimate, infi¬ 
nite, and eternal principle is known as REALITY. 

II. REALITY is Absolute Unity. It is Independ¬ 
ent and Free; Whole, Complete, and Perfect; Original 
and Causeless; Eternal; Infinite; Ultimate; Absolute; 
Formless; Indivisible; and Immutable. REALITY is 
Infinite Substance, Infinite Energy, Infinite Life, Infi¬ 
nite Law, and Infinite Mind. 

III. REALITY is in Eternal Creation. It is the 
support and background for the phenomenal appear¬ 
ance of numberless universes incessantly manifesting 
and disappearing. It is the changeless reality mani¬ 
festing the eternal law of change. It is the uncon¬ 
ditioned and absolute ground for all that exists 
conditionally. In ITSELF it is ALL-THAT-IS. In 
its Creation it is All-that-Appears; uncreate, it is 
THE-ALL. Its Creation appears as the Cosmos. 

IV. The Universe, with all contained therein, is 
created in and by REALITY considered as Infinite 
Mind. All Creation exists as IDEA in the Infinite 
Mind of REALITY. The Will of REALITY is Uni¬ 
versal Energy. The Pure Logic of REALITY is 


14 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


Universal Law. The Being of REALITY is Uni¬ 
versal Life. The Substance of REALITY is Uni¬ 
versal Substance. The Infinite Mind of REALITY, 
in its Ideative and Volitional activities, is the Creative 
and Conative Power of the Universe. 

V. REALITY is immanent in its Creation, and in 
every part thereof. In the characters of its conscious 
creations it manifests itself as the artist in his work, 
the poet, playwright, or writer in his characters. The 
created universe is the cosmic dramatization of RE¬ 
ALITY, through which it lives and acts, moves and 
plays its infinitude of parts. REALITY, being indi¬ 
visible and immutable, is immanent in each of its 
/creations in its TOTALITY OF BEING. In and 
back of each conscious being is the Presence and Power 
of REALITY. REALITY is immanent in YOU. 
Hence the following 

Message of Reality. 

There is one principle of REALITY—the essence, 
nature, substance, and principle of All-that-IS. This 
principle—REALITY—always remains itself, indivis¬ 
ible and immutable, notwithstanding the infinity of 
apparent differences in manifestation of form, shape, 
state, or condition under which it occurs, appears, or 
presents itself in the phenomenal universe. You your- 


THE MASTERY OF BEING . 


15 


self are the Manifestation of that principle—REAL¬ 
ITY. And, likewise, YOU are identical with it in the 
totality of its essence, nature, substance, and reality. 
The recognition of this Identity by the Intellect con¬ 
stitutes the perception of Truth; the realization of it 
by Intuition constitutes Illumination; the manifesta¬ 
tion of it by Volition constitutes Mastery. 

* * * * * * * 

In this book you are invited to pursue the inquiry 


in detail, both in the examination and investigation of 
the Axioms of REALITY, the consideration of the 
Nature of REALITY, the Process of Manifestation, 
and the Facts of Immanence, Identity, and Mastery. 


The Meaning of Terms. 


Before proceeding to the Axioms of REALITY the 
student is asked and advised to acquaint himself or 
herself with the definition of the principal terms em¬ 
ployed in our inquiry. It is impossible for one to 
intelligently study the Axioms unless he or she he fully 
acquainted with and informed regarding the terms 
employed. A term is a peg upon which a thought is 
suspended. The association of each thought with its 
own particular term is needed in order that one may 



16 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


reason clearly. The clear and correct understanding 
of terms is the first requisite of logical thought and 
reasoning. Therefore, we say to the student: Master 
the definitions before you proceed further, and then as 
you proceed frequently refer to them. 


Fundamental Definitions. 

ULTIMATE: Extreme, final; incapable of further 
analysis, division, separation, resolution, refinement, 
purification, or simplification. 

INFINITE: Without limits, bounds, or measure¬ 
ments; ultimate capacity and possibility of expression 
and manifestation in time, space, quantity, quality, 
and variety. 

ETERNAL: Without beginning or ending of exist¬ 
ence; always existing; existence without intermission; 
ceaseless; constant; everlasting; perpetual. 

PRINCIPLE: The source or origin from which 
anything proceeds; ultimate element or essence; the 
original inherent essence of a thing, and its final and 
ultimate essential nature. 

ESSENCE: That which is the very and actual 
nature of anything. 

NATURE: The inherent and essential “thingness” 
of the being of anything. 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


17 


SUBSTANCE: That which underlies all outward 
manifestations; that which constitutes anything what 
it is; real and existing essence, nature, or being; that 
which constitutes the Thing-in-Itself, as distinguished 
from its appearances or outward manifestations. 


CHAPTER III. 

Axioms of Reality. 


OU are now invited to acquaint yourselves with 



the Axioms of EEALITY. An axiom is a 
self-evident and necessary truth—a proposi¬ 


tion based on reason, which it is necessary to take for 
granted in subsequent thought; or a proposition which 
is so evident that when presented to the reasoning mind 
it requires no further demonstration but commends 
itself at once to the acceptance of every one capable 
of thinking. 

The science of logic, like that of higher mathematics, 
is based upon axioms. An axiom, being based upon 
the general and invariable report of reason of the race, 
is not subjected to the demand for repeated proof upon 
each occasion of its frequent employment as a basis for 
demonstration and argument. To dispute the evidence 
of the axioms of rational thought is akin to disputing 
the validity of human thought itself. In the latter 
case, however, even the validity of the disputation 
would be attacked at the same time that the axiom was 
attacked, for the disputation itself is a manifestation 
of human thought. The axioms hold ever, unless we 
deny the validity of reason. 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


19 


In the Axioms of REALITY herein given will be ' 
found the fundamental and elementary reports of the 
reason regarding the Ultimate Principle of REALITY, ■ i 
which we have stated as the subject of our inquiry. 
These axioms should be carefully studied, considered, 
and committed to memory. They will be found to 
furnish an infallible touchstone with which to test the 
soundness of any philosophical or metaphysical doc¬ 
trine, dogma, or teaching. They are the report of 
the highest philosophical thought of the ages directed 
to the subject. They represent the essence of the 
thought of the illumined of the race upon the subject 
of REALITY. With the Axioms of REALITY the 
student has at hand the master key with which to open 
the many doors of the temple of knowledge. Rightly 
used they will disclose the Truth-of-Truths. 

We beg of the student to tarry awhile with the 
axioms, to dwell with them awhile before passing on. 
The mind that is saturated with the Truth embodied 
in the axioms cannot go far astray on the path of 
philosophical knowledge. They will serve as a con¬ 
stant series of infallible guideposts, pointing ever to 
the Truth. Do not pass them by as dull, dry, tedious, 
or technical, for in them you will find all the interest 
that is imaginable. In their few words is to be found 
the essence of all philosophy and metaphysics. Make 


20 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


them your own, treat them well, and in the hour of 
mental stress and trial they will be found by your side, 
whispering the word of Truth in your ear, clearing 
away all doubts, and brushing aside all conflicting and 
contradictory arguments. Hold fast to the axioms,— 
this is our first and last advice to the student,—hold 
fast to the axioms! 

AXIOM OF ACTUAL EXISTENCE. 

FIRST AXIOM OF REALITY: REALITY is existent 
in truth, in verity, and in fact as the essence, nature, 
substance, and principle of All-that-IS. 

This axiom announces the actual existence of RE¬ 
ALITY; not the imaginary existence, but the real, 
veritable, truthful, and in-fact existence; not the tem¬ 
porary or temporal shadow of existence, but the fixed, 
unalterable, eternal existence, which alone constitutes 
REAL existence; not the existence of the fleeting form, 
but the existence of the eternal essence. This actual 
existence is the “REALITY” of philosophy. Only that 
which exists and remains unchanged, invariable, and 
permanent may be said to be REALITY in the strict 
philosophical sense of the term. 

On every side, and in everything, we perceive the 
manifestation of constant change of form, shape, and 
activity; everlasting and ever-manifest transmutation 
of substance from one phase to another; impermanence 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


21 


in everything; nothing stable; nothing constant; noth¬ 
ing persisting; everything in constant motion; every¬ 
thing in a state of flux; everything flowing on like a 
river, never the same for two consecutive moments; 
everything the ever-changing particles of a huge cosmic 
flame; nothing permanently “being”; everything con¬ 
stantly “becoming” or passing from one state to an¬ 
other; action and reaction; cycles and rhythms; the 
beginningless and endless sequence of events; the con¬ 
stant operation of cause and effect; the Law of Change 
ever modifying and altering the shape, form, activity, 
state, and condition of everything, even from the very 
moment of its creation or birth. 

Being’s Ceaseless Tide. 

We are constantly aware of the chameleon-like nature 
and character of what Gautama the Buddha called 

“Being’s ceaseless tide, 

“Which, ever-changing, runs, linked like a river 
By ripples following ripples, fast or slow,— 

The same, yet not the same,—from far-oS fountain 
To where its waters flow 

“Into the seas. These, steaming to the sun, 

Give the lost wavelets back in cloudy fleece 
To trickle down the hills and glide again, 

Having no pause or peace. 


22 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


“This is enough to know, the phantasms are; 

The Heavens, Earths, Worlds, and changes chang¬ 
ing them 

A mighty whirling wheel of strife and stress 
Which none can stay or stem.” 

The Quest for Principle. 

Turning in despair from this contemplation, think¬ 
ing men and women have sought for a fundamental 
principle of REALITY underlying, supporting, and 
sustaining the universe of finite, transitory, changing 
shapes, forms, activities, states, and conditions,—that 
“unconditioned and absolute ground for all that exists 
conditionally,” which Plato asserted to be the real sub¬ 
ject-matter of the inquiry of philosophy. 

The wise have ever refused to accept the changing, 
impermanent, phenomenal universe as the ultimate 
verity, truth, and fact of REALITY. They have 
always insisted upon looking behind and under the 
world of manifestation for the essence which they be¬ 
lieved must lie back of it; for the infinite essence under¬ 
tying the finite; for the immutable essence underlying 
the ever-changing; for the eternal essence underlying 
the transitory. 

Gazing upon the universal manifestation of the law 
of change, the thoughtful ever have asked themselves 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


23 


and others the ultimate question: What * is it that 
manifests change? What is it that IS? What is it 
that is actually, verily, truthfully, and in fact RE¬ 
ALITY? 

While the majority of the race has contented itself 
with creating deities, gods, demigods, godlings, and 
minor supernatural entities in endless variety, number, 
and name, the wise of the race, discarding these crea¬ 
tions of the naive imaginations of their brethren, and 
ignoring the interested dogma of the various priest¬ 
hoods attending the shrine of the local deities, tribal 
gods, and supernatural personages, have ever sought 
for the principle of REALITY which abides, lives, and 
has its existence in the infinity of manifested forms, 
shapes, activities, and existences of the universe, and 
in which they so abide, live, and have their being. 
Like old Omar, they have sought ever for that Abiding 
Presence, that ULTIMATE REALITY,— 

“Whose secret presence, throughout creation’s veins 
Running Quicksilver-like, eludes our pains, 

Taking all shapes from Mah to Mahi; and 
They change and perish all, but HE remains.” 

They have perceived that REALITY cannot be 
merely the outward forms, shapes, activities, states, 
and conditions of manifested existence, for the finite 


24 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


character of these were soon discovered. The material 
panorama of the manifested universe was recognized 
as a phantasmagoria, and all beings participating in 
it as mere actors on the great stage of the Cosmos. 
The wise have ever held that the manifested universe 
is akin to a cosmic dramatization of REALITY; that, 
as Omar says,— 

“We are no other than a moving row 
Of Magic Shadow-shapes that come and go 
Round with the Sun-illumined Lantern held 
In midnight by the Master of the Show.” 

Noumenon and Phenomenon. 

The philosophic mind of the race has ever distin¬ 
guished between the mere outward appearance of the 
universal activities and the essence or real activity 
manifesting in and producing the outward appearance. 
The universe of outward forms, shapes, activities, 
states, and conditions is designated by the term “phe¬ 
nomenal,” which means “visible; apprehended by ob¬ 
servation; apparent ; presented to the eye or senses.” 
In its original Greek, the term “phenomenon” has a 
common origin with “phantom,” “phantasm,” etc., the 
original Greek root of all these meaning “to appear; 
to show.” The phenomenal world is often called by 
philosophers “the world of appearances,” the term 


THE MASTERY OF BEING . 


25 


“appearance” being used as synonymous with “phe¬ 
nomenon” and being similar in meaning to “appari¬ 
tion.” In the majority of philosophies the “world of 
appearances” or “the phenomenal world” indicates a 
“universal phantasmagoria” or “universal appari¬ 
tion”—a great cosmic picture show or a procession of 
phantasmal, apparitional shapes and forms subject to 
states and conditions. 

Opposed to the world of phenomenal appearance, the 
philosophers assert the existence of that which they 
call by various names, such as “Reality,” “Verity,” 
“Truth.” REALITY is conceived of as the ultimate 
essence, nature, substance, and very being of ALL- 
that-IS. Philosophers sometimes employ the term 
“noumenon” to designate REALITY as we use the 
term. 

“The Master of the Show.” 

Inquirers for REALITY, refusing to accept the 
phenomenal world as ultimate reality, truth, or fact, 
but recognizing the phantasmal nature of the “moving 
row of Magic Shadow-shapes that come and go,” have 
instituted a further inquiry. They have even denied 
ultimate reality to “the Sun-illumined Lantern held 
in midnight” and have insisted that naught will suffice 
them other than the actual discovery of “the Master 
of the Show” himself, who holds the Lantern. But 


26 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


they have not failed to realize the elusive nature of that 
which they seek. They know full well the truth that 
Omar uttered when he said that REALITY ever is but 

“A moment guessed—then back behind the Fold 
Immerst of Darkness round the Drama rolled, 
Which for the pastime of Eternity 
He doth Himself contrive, enact, behold.” 

~\ 

The Report of Reason. 

The best philosophical thought of the past and pres¬ 
ent has ever asserted the actual existence of an ultimate 
principle of REALITY—the essence, nature, substance, 
and reality of All-that-IS. The wisest of the race have 
always maintained the actual existence of a certain 
something which abides, invariable and constant, as the 
essential principle of and in all things, all creatures, 
all entities, all beings, and which precedes and sur¬ 
vives all the changes of form, shape, state, and condi¬ 
tion of phenomenal appearance. The only escape from 
this conclusion is the assumption that each change of 
form, shape, state, or condition is a separate, inde¬ 
pendent, and original creation; that no changed thing 
has a direct or indirect substantial connection with that 
which immediately preceded it, or with that which 
immediately succeeds it. This idea is unthinkable and 


TEE MASTERY OF BEING. 


27 


is not advanced by any philosophy worthy of the name 
or having the respect of thinking men. 

No matter what may be the theory of the philosopher 
or scientist, he will always admit that evolution is 
merely a series of changing events and not a series of 
separate “things.” Evolution is seen to be merely the 
change of the apparent form, shape, state, or condition 
of a certain SOMETHING which is the essence, na¬ 
ture, substance, and principle of the entire series of 
changing and changed “things.” It is the silken thread 
upon which is strung the pearls of phenomenal exist¬ 
ence. It is the UNCHANGING SOMETHING 
which supports and holds together the UNIVERSE 
OF CHANGING THINGS. It is the ETERNAL 
BACKGROUND upon the surface of which appears 
the endless procession of changing forms, shapes, states, 
and conditions of the phenomenal Universe—the Mov¬ 
ing-Picture Show of the Cosmos. 

Monism. 

Professor Pringle-Patterson says: “Monism is, in 
strictness, a name applicable to any system of thought 
which sees in the universe the manifestation or work¬ 
ing of a single principle. Such a unity may be said to 
be at once the tacit presupposition and the goal of all 
philosophic effort, and in so far as a philosophy fails 


28 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


to harmonize the apparently independent and even con¬ 
flicting facts of experience, as aspects or elements 
within a larger whole, it must be held to fall short of 
the necessary ideal of thought. Dualism, in an ulti¬ 
mate metaphysical reference, is a confession of the 
failure of philosophy to achieve its proper task; and 
this is the justification of those who consistently use 
the word as a term of reproach.” 


The Report of Intuition. 

In addition to the report of reason regarding the 
necessity of an ultimate Principle of REALITY, the 
intuition of man has ever informed him of the exist¬ 
ence and presence of an abiding, unchangeable SOME¬ 
THING WITHIN-—a Something which transcends all 
intellectual knowledge and reasoning processes, but 
which is perceived to be ever present at the very heart 
of one’s being, the very soul of one’s soul. Intuition 
informs man that he is resting upon a great sea of 
REALITY, that there is a Something underneath and 
back of him which is the supporting reality of his 
being and life. So universal is this perception of intu¬ 
ition that the reason is bound to take it into considera¬ 
tion and to combine and correlate it with its own 
reports and judgments. Moreover, it remains for the 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


29 


reason to interpret and announce that which the intui¬ 
tion inevitably perceives. 

The conception of Deity—GOD—as immanent in his 
creation, and indwelling in the hearts of men, is the 
vague but insistent report of intuition which perceives 
in the center of the nature and being of the individual 
the existence and presence of that Something which is 
the essence, nature, substance, and very being of All- 
that-IS ! —that which is called REALITY. As an ad¬ 
vanced teacher has said: “The being you have heard 
of as God exists metaphysically but as an idea of your 
mind, and really is an attempt on the part of your 
mind to grasp the nature of your own being; and it is 
the business and duty of every human entity to assume 
absolute identity with the idea of God . 1 The idea of 
God is the best description in the universe, in its 
purity and in its perfection, of what you really are, 
thrown out, as it were, a thought picture upon the 
enterprise of the universe.” The universal intuitive 
perception and conception of a God of some kind is the 
result of this inevitable report of intuition that there 
is a REALITY in which we live and move and have 
our being, and which also lives and moves and has its 
being in ourselves. 


CHAPTER IV. 


Axioms of Reality—Continued. 


AXIOM OF INCLUSIVENESS. 


S ECOND AXIOM OF REALITY: REALITY is ALL 
that is in actual BEING; all that is in actual 
BEING is REALITY. 


This axiom announces the inclusiveness of REAL¬ 
ITY. REALITY is perceived to include within its 
content and being ALL that actually is in BEING— 
all that really IS. REALITY is perceived actually 
to BE ALL j there-IS. Likewise, it is perceived that 
ALL that occurs, appears, or is presented in the form, 
shape, state, or condition of “Becoming” is not in actual 
BEING, and therefore is excluded from the content and 
being of SPIRIT. 


Actual Being. 

“Actual BEING” is that which'is existent in truth, 
in verity, and in fact; that which has a fixed, unalter¬ 
able, eternal existence; that which is the same yester¬ 
day, to-day, and to-morrow. Nothing that changes in 
Time can be said to be in actual BEING, for it does 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


31 


not exist in its original state even for the briefest 
moment of consideration in thought. Even if we 
reduce the period of thought-consideration to the infin¬ 
itesimal point of a second of time, the phenomenal 
thing under consideration undergoes change during 
that consideration—this from the fact that Time itself 
is but a record of change, and the smallest period 
thereof must be a record of change. A thing which 
changes even in the infinitesimal moment of time when 
it is under consideration by the mind cannot be said 
to have been in actual BEING at all. All that has 
been perceived as in apparent existence is a series of 
changes of form, shape, state, or condition; a proces¬ 
sion of such and no one real, abiding thing; there has 
been no actual BEING at all, merely a series of states 
of “Becoming.” The only actual BEING is vested in 
the essence, nature, substance, and principle of the 
Thing. 

“Becoming.” 

“Becoming” is a term used in philosophy to designate 
the ever-changing state of phenomenal things. The 
term means “passing from one state to another.” Many 
philosophers, ancient and modern, from Heraclitus the 
Ephesian (500 B.C.) to Bergson of to-day, have held 
that to the universe there is no BEING but only an 
eternal “Becoming.” If the universe be conceived of 


32 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


as simply an eternal series of changing things, with no 
unchanging background or continuous essence, then 
this theory holds good, for there can be no BEING in 
a series of infinite changes, for nothing would persist 
long enough to BE; even at the instant of its birth it 
would have begun to change into something else. 
Everything in the phenomenal Universe is undergoing 
this eternal change. As Bergson says: “Though we 
may do our best to imitate the mobility of ‘becoming’ 
by an addition that is ever going on, ‘becoming’ itself 
slips through our fingers just when we think we are 
holding it tight.” The idea of “Becoming” is that 
there are no things, but only actions; no fixed thing¬ 
ness, but only changing events. Bergson compares the 
universe to a great moving picture which is never in 
actual BEING for a single moment but which is always 
“Becoming”—the rapid motion giving to the “Becom¬ 
ing” the appearance of actual BEING. Unless we 
grant the unchanging ESSENCE or background of 
BEAUTY, then, indeed, there is no actual BEING. 

This axiom includes in the content and being of 
BEAUTY all that is in actual BEING. Likewise, it 
excludes from the content and being of BEALITY all 
that is merely “Becoming.” Thus we see the actual 
existence of all “Becoming” is denied; the appearance 
of such must be accounted for in another way. 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


33 


AXIOM OP INVARIABLE IDENTITY. 

THIRD AXIOM OF REALITY: REALITY is always 
and invariably itself, and never other than itself. 

This axiom announces the invariable identity of 
REALITY. It accords with the Primary Laws of 
Thought which hold that a thing is always itself, and 
never other than itself, in spite of the forms, shapes, 
states, or conditions under which it occurs, presents 
itself, or appears . REALITY can never, under any 
circumstances, be other than itself, no matter what 
disguises it may assume in manifestation in the phe¬ 
nomenal world. Neither can it change itself into 
something else, or become something else, than itself. 
Neither can it change the ultimate facts of its essence, 
nature, substance, and reality. Neither can it acquire 
characteristics, qualities, properties, or attributes not 
originally and essentially its own. All apparently such 
must be recognized as merely a part of the phenomenal 
world of appearances. Nothing can rob BEING of its 
invariable identity. Neither can it itself divest itself 
of its invariable identity. REALITY and its invari¬ 
able identity are inseparably bound together, and are 
the one and the same thing, forever undivorceable. 
The reason is unable to think otherwise. So long as 
the reason functions it must report the truth of the 
Axiom of Invariable Identity. No thing can be other 


34 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


than itself. REALITY must ever and invariably re¬ 
main itself and nothing else. 

AXIOM OF THE NEGATION OF NOTHINGNESS. 

FOURTH AXIOM OF REALITY: “NOTHINGNESS,” 
being the negation of REALITY, does not exist. 

This axiom announces the Negation of Nothingness. 
The conception of NOTHINGNESS is the antithesis 
of the conception bf REALITY, which alone is actual 
BEING. The two cannot exist at the same time. 
Either REALITY is not, or else Nothing is not. 
Either REALITY^ is, or Nothing is. We have dis¬ 
covered the fact of the existence of REALITY; there¬ 
fore, we must of necessity deny the existence of 
Nothing. It may seem childish to assert so emphatic¬ 
ally that Nothing has no existence. But when we meet 
with the assertion of Nothingness advanced by certain 
thinkers as an explanation of the facts of being, we shall 
see the necessity of either affirming or else denying its 
existence. Hence this absolute denial and negation of 
Nothing and Nothingness. They are meaningless 
words and have no counterpart or reason in actual 
existence and being. These terms are valid only in the 
fact of bringing REALITY into positive and clear 
relief by reason of the contrast. As a positive concept, 
“Nothing” is fallacious, fictitious, and untruthful, hav- 


THE MASTERY OF BEING . 


35 


ing no basis in verity, reality, fact, or experience. It is 
a mere statement of the absence of existence. “Noth¬ 
ing” either is or is not. The reason refuses to accept 
the idea that it is, therefore it reports that it is not. 
With this report also comes the report that “from 
Nothing no thing can come ”—“ex nihilo nihil fit." 
And, likewise, “into Nothing no thing can go.” Any¬ 
thing that appears to come from Nothing, or to go to 
Nothing, is seen by the reason never to have been,—to 
have had naught but an illusory and fictitious shadow 
of existence. 

AXIOM OF ABSOLUTE UNITY. 

FIFTH AXIOM OF REALITY: REALITY is Abso¬ 
lute Unity and Oneness. 

This axiom announces the Absolute Unity of RE¬ 
ALITY. By Absolute Unity is meant Absolute ONE¬ 
NESS OF BEING. Absolute Unity does not mean 
a mere loose association or union between diversified 
parts or separate things, such as the union of atoms or 
parts of a thing; or the association of individuals, such 
as a congress, army, crowd, assembly. Absolute Unity 
means a state of absolute oneness, absolute singleness 
as opposed to plurality. Absolute Unity does not mean 
a temporary union; Absolute Unity means an eternal, 
fixed, immutable, and invariable Unity or Oneness. 


36 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


Absolute Unity means unity absolute, without any 
qualification or reservation whatever. 

The Absolute Unity of REALITY is the report of 
all trained and developed reason directed to the sub¬ 
ject. All philosophy worthy of the name has expressed 
the necessary report of the reason that Ultimate Reality 
is One and one only. Science has agreed in this report 
and has announced the existence of a One “infinite and 
eternal energy from which all things proceed.” It is 
a mathematical and logical truism that “the infinite 
must be absolute unity.” Without such Absolute Unity 
the facts of the phenomenal universe cannot be ex¬ 
plained. The constant change of form, the constant 
correlation of energy, the constant transformation and 
transmutation of substance—all these indicate the ex¬ 
istence of one common and universal essence, nature, 
substance, and reality, from which all manifestations of 
form, shape, state, condition, and activity are expressed. 

Denial of the Absolute Unity of REALITY is the 
denial of the ultimate principle of REALITY itself, 
and the assertion of the existence of many Principles 
of REALITY. This, if true, would destroy all infi¬ 
niteness and cause every one of the many principles to 
be finite, bounded, limited, and opposed to each other. 
All human thought and experience is directly opposed 
to this conception. Every instinct, intuition, and rea- 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


37 


son of the human mind reports the logical necessity of 
the existence of a ONE Ultimate Principle of REAL¬ 
ITY by whatever name it may be called. All philos¬ 
ophy, and all science, holds to this idea of the Absolute 
Unity of the Ultimate Principle of REALITY. The 
trained and developed human reason inevitably reports 
this fact as axiomatic. A Unity which is not an Ab¬ 
solute Unity is a mere temporary and loose union, and 
is but the assertion of Non-Unity. 

AXIOM OF INDEPENDENCE AND FREEDOM. 

SIXTH AXIOM OF REALITY: REALITY is Inde¬ 
pendent and Free. 

This axiom announces the independence and freedom 
of REALITY". By “independent” is meant “not de¬ 
pendent; not supported by, or reliant upon, others.** 
By “free” is meant “not subject to control by others; 
not subordinated, constrained, restricted, restrained, or 
subjected to others.” 

There is nothing other than itself upon which RE¬ 
ALITY can depend, rely, or support itself, or by which 
it can be controlled, subordinated, constrained, re¬ 
stricted, restrained, or subjected. REALITY being the 
essence, nature, substance, and principle of All-that-IS, 
there can be nothing else upon which it can depend, 
and nothing else to which it can be subject or subor- 


38 


TEE MASTERY OF BEING. 


dinate, nor by which it can be restrained, restricted, or 
controlled. The reason inevitably reports that REAL¬ 
ITY, by the very facts of its essence, nature, substance, 
and principle, must be and is independent and free. 

AXIOM OF WHOLENESS, COMPLETION, AND 
PERFECTION. 

SEVENTH AXIOM OF REALITY: REALITY is 
Complete, Whole, and Perfect. 

This axiom announces the Wholeness, Completion, 
and Perfection of REALITY. By “whole” is meant 
“containing the total amount; total; entire.” By “com¬ 
plete” is meant “finished; lacking nothing requisite to 
wholeness and perfection; not deficient in any respect.” 
By “perfect” is meant “consummated; whole; finished; 
nothing wanting or lacking.” 

REALITY is perceived to be whole, complete, and 
perfect by the very fact of its essence, nature, substance, 
and reality. It being the essence, nature, substance, 
and reality of All-that-IS, and there being nothing 
other than itself in existence, it follows that there can 
be nothing that could make it whole, or complete and 
perfect it, if it be not so already. If it is held to be 
not whole, complete, and perfect, then it must also be 
held that it can never become whole, complete, or per¬ 
fect, for there is nothing which could be added to it to 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


39 


make it whole, complete, or perfect it, and nothing that 
could act as the maker-whole, completer, or perfecter. 
It cannot be made, by change, more whole, complete, 
or perfect than it is, for it cannot become other than 
itself. If there is anything lacking in or to REAL¬ 
ITY, then such must always remain lacking, for RE¬ 
ALITY is All-that-IS and cannot be other than itself. 
The reason inevitably reports that REALITY is whole, 
complete, and perfect. 


CHAPTER V. 


Axioms of Reality — Continued. 

AXIOM OF ORIGINALITY AND CAUSELESSNESS. 

E ighth axiom of reality: reality is 

Original and Causeless. 

This axiom announces the Originality and 
Causelessness of REALITY. By “original” is meant 
“preceding all others; first; primary; primitive; that 
which is the origin, cause, source, or primary root from 
which all else has proceeded” By “causeless” is meant 
“without preceding cause, origin, root, or source; un¬ 
created” 

REALITY is perceived to be primary, first, preceding 
all, the source, origin, or root from which all else has 
proceeded. It is also perceived to be uncaused and 
uncreated. As it is the essence, nature, substance, and 
very being of All-that-IS, and as there is nothing other 
than itself, it must be original and uncaused, for there 
is nothing else which could have preceded it, nothing 
else which could have caused it, nothing else which 
could have created it. It cannot have proceeded from 
or been caused or created by Nothing, for Nothing is 
denied and is not in existence. If there is a Creator 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


41 


of REALITY,—a Something preceding it,—then that 
Something is really REALITY, and that which we 
have been considering as REALITY is a mere mani¬ 
festation or appearance,—in which case the inquiry is 
merely moved back a point and the axiom still stands 
in its full effect and virtue. 

Reason vs. Imagination. 

All human thought and reasoning, carried to its 
logical conclusion, brings one to the inevitable con¬ 
clusion that there must be assumed to exist an ORIG¬ 
INAL SOMETHING, an Uncaused and Uncreated 
Thing. The reason cannot escape this conclusion, 
although the imagination may find it impossible to 
image or make a mental picture of an original, un¬ 
caused, uncreated thing. The imagination having had 
experiences only with secondary, caused, and created 
things, is unable to picture the contrary thereof. But 
the reason is enabled to transcend the imagination 
when trained and developed by logic. 

All human thought, in spite of the imagination, 
eventually postulates the existence of Something orig¬ 
inal, uncaused, uncreated. This Something it may call 
Matter, Spirit, Mind, Being, or God—names matter 
not. The reason bases its entire edifice of thought 
upon this postulate. But the imagination, like the 


42 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


child, persists in inquiring, “But who made GodT ’— 
so hypnotized by finite cause and effect is it. 

When the reason trains the imagination to picture 
cause and effect as merely the procession of changes 
which eternally passes in infinite array upon the sur¬ 
face of Appearance,—REALITY being the eternal 
background of Reality upon which the Cosmic Moving- 
Picture Show moves and appears,—then REALITY is 
perceived to he original, uncaused, and uncreated. 
When the nature of cause and effect is perceived by 
reason, then the hypnotism of Causation is dispelled 
and the imagination is able to form the proper image. 

The only escape from the conclusion that REALITY 
is original, uncaused, and uncreated is the idea that it 
proceeded, arose, or sprung from Nothing. This is 
seen at once to be a fallacy, for from Nothing no 
thing can come; and, finally, there is no such thing as 
Nothing—it is merely a word. 

The reason should be tested upon this axiom. It 
should be urged and encouraged to endeavor to discover 
the possibility of there being no original, uncaused, or 
uncreated thing in existence. Even if it regards the 
universe as a Whole Thing composed of an infinity of 
ever-changing parts, then it must hold that the Whole 
Thing is original, uncaused, and uncreated. Even if it 
regards the universe as a procession of ever-changing 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


43 


forms and shapes, permeated by a common essence, 
nature, substance, and principle, then the latter must 
be held to be original, uncaused, and uncreated. Even 
if it regards the universe as something created by a 
Supreme Being, either apart from itself or immanent 
in it, then that Supreme Being must be held to be 
original, uncaused, and uncreated. In either case the 
result is the same. And whatever may be the concep¬ 
tion which serves as the premise, the original, uncaused, 
and uncreated Something which emerges as the con¬ 
clusion of the reasoning is seen to be the REALITY 
of our inquiry. 


AXIOM OF ETERNITY. 

NINTH AXIOM OF REALITY: REALITY is Eternal. 

This axiom announces the Eternity of REALITY. 
By “Eternal” is meant “without beginning and end of 
existence; always existing; existence without intermis¬ 
sion; ceaseless; constant; everlasting; interminable; 
perpetual 

REALITY is perceived to be eternal by the very fact 
of its essence, nature, substance, and being. For the 
same reasons that it is seen to be original, uncaused, 
and uncreated, it is perceived to be eternal. For there 
is nothing else than itself from which it could have 
come; and it could not have come from Nothing. 


44 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


Neither is there anything else into which it can change. 
It must always be itself; and it cannot change, proceed, 
or disappear into Nothingness. 

If there had ever been a time in which REALITY 
was not in existence, then it would not be in existence 
now, for Something cannot come from Nothing. If 
it is in existence now, it will always be in existence, 
for Something cannot disappear, proceed, or change 
into Nothing. And there never has been, is not now, 
and never can be anything else than itself for it to 
proceed from or into. 

The imagination, for reasons already stated, finds it 
almost impossible to picture a beginningless and endless 
Thing. But the reason finds the report of the exist¬ 
ence of Something Eternal at the foundation of all 
thought. It cannot escape the conclusion. It may call 
this Something Eternal by one of many names, but the 
recognition is universal and common to the reason. 
Whether the universe he considered as one in essence, 
or a union of diverse parts of things, the Whole Thing 
must he considered as Eternal. The fact of the Eter¬ 
nity of REALITY is axiomatic, self-evident, and indis¬ 
putable. The human reason must so ever report. 

AXIOM OF INFINITY. 

TENTH AXIOM OF REALITY: REALITY is Infi¬ 
nite. 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


45 


This axiom announces the Infinity of REALITY. 
By “Infinite” is meant (1) <c unlimited; boundless; im¬ 
measurable; illimitable; interminable; limitless; (2) 
ultimate capacity and possibility of expression and 
manifestation in time, space, quantity, quality, and 
variety.” 

REALITY is perceived to be infinite, in both of the 
above general meanings of the term, by the very fact 
of its essence, nature, substance, and very being. For 
there is nothing else than itself to limit, bound, or 
determine it. Neither is there anything other than 
itself to impair its ultimate capacity and possibility of 
expression and manifestation. There is nothing to 
limit it and nothing with which to limit it even in 
thought. The mind is unable to conceive of a limit in 
time, space, quantity, quality, or variety to REALITY. 
Try as hard as we may, we are not able to place the limit 
on the manifestation and expression of REALITY. 
The reason refuses to entertain the idea of such limit. 
And even the imagination is unable to fix the same, 
although it is likewise unable to make a mental picture 
of the Infinite, for reasons already stated. The fact 
of the infinity of REALITY is axiomatic; it cannot be 
denied. 


46 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


AXIOM OF ULTIMATENESS. 

ELEVENTH AXIOM OF REALITY: REALITY is 
Ultimate. 

This axiom announces the Ultimateness of REAL¬ 
ITY. By “Ultimate” is meant “extreme; last; final; 
elemental; pure, simple, and essential; incapable of 
further analysis, refinement, reduction, or resolution** 

REALITY is perceived to be ultimate, in the above 
meanings of the term, by the very fact of its essence, 
nature, substance, and reality. It is conceived of and 
perceived as being the final, extreme, refined, pure, 
simple, and essential nature, substance, and reality of 
All-that-IS. It is seen to be the ultimate source or 
origin from which all existence flows; the ultimate ele¬ 
ment and essence of existence; the final and ultimate 
fact of existence; the essential, simple, pure, and ulti¬ 
mate substance of existence; incapable of further analy¬ 
sis, resolution, refinement, purification, simplification, 
or perfection. REALITY is the ultimate fact of exist¬ 
ence. Further than it the conception of existence can¬ 
not go. Further than it we cannot think of existence. 
It is the very heart and soul of existence; it is the very 
center of That-which-IS. It is the very QUINTES¬ 
SENCE OF IS-NESS. 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


47 


AXIOM OF ABSOLUTENESS. 

TWELFTH AXIOM OF REALITY: REALITY is 
Absolute. 

This axiom announces the Absoluteness of BEAL- 
ITY. By “Absolute,” as the term is herein employed, 
is meant “sovereign; self-existing; self-sufficient; self- 
controlled; unqualified.” 

BEALITY is seen to be absolute, in the above stated 
meanings of the term, by the very fact of its essence, 
nature, substance, and reality. It being the ultimate 
essence of The ALL, there can be nothing sovereign 
to it; nothing to rule, govern, or control it. Being 
All-there-IS in real existence, being original, uncaused, 
uncreated, independent, infinite, eternal, and ultimate, 
it follows that it must be self-existent, self-sufficient, 
and self-controlled. In Absolute Beality there must 
be all the presence and power there is. Just as infin¬ 
ity expresses boundlessness in manifestation in time, 
space, variety, etc., so does absoluteness express bound¬ 
lessness in power and authority and being. There is 
no higher term in the language. It expresses the limit 
of power. BEALITY is seen to be absolute by the 
very fact of its BEING. There is nothing else to 
share or divide power, authority, or being with BE¬ 
ALITY. It is perceived by reason to be absolute, and 


48 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


the imagination will offer hut little objection to the 
idea. 

AXIOM OF FORMLESSNESS. 

THIRTEENTH AXIOM OF REALITY: REALITY is 
Formless. 

This axiom announces the Formlessness of REAL¬ 
ITY. By “Form” is meant “shape, mould, figure, 
configuration,” all of which indicate finite dimension or 
measure, length, breadth, height, thickness, or circum¬ 
ference. “Formless,” of course, means “without form; 
lacking determinate form or shape.” 

REALITY is perceived to be Formless in the full 
sense of the term, as above stated, by the very fact of 
its essence, nature, substance, and reality. Form is an 
attribute of matter, and must be absent from imma¬ 
terial substance. Moreover, form indicates and ex¬ 
presses finite limitation and determination in space. 
No thing that is infinite can have form. Form im¬ 
mediately sets up limits and bounds. Form would 
destroy the infinity of REALITY. It is impossible 
for an infinite thing to have bounds or limits in space. 
Form is a characteristic indication, quality, attribute, 
and property of material phenomena and is utterly 
opposed to the facts of Reality. To attribute form 
to REALITY is akin to attributing “parts” to it. 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


49 


Form can no more be attributed to REALITY than to 
the concept of Infinite Space, or Infinite Substance, 
or Infinite Anything. Moreover, form can no more be 
considered as an attribute of REALITY than of Mind, 
or Life, or Energy, or Law. REALITY cannot be 
thought of as having Form, Shape, or Size by reason 
of the very facts of its being. 


CHAPTER YI. 

Axioms of Reality — Concluded 

AXIOM OF INDIVISIBILITY. 


V 


OURTEENTH AXIOM OF REALITY: REALITY 
is Indivisible. 



■A. This axiom announces the Indivisibility of 
REALITY. By “Indivisible” is meant “inseparable; 


incapable of separation or division into parts; incapable 


of partition; the state of original, simple, and absolute 
Oneness” 

From our consideration of REALITY we perceive 
that it is indivisible, in the full sense of the term as 
above stated, by the very fact of its essence, nature, 
substance, and very being. REALITY is not a com¬ 
posite union which may be indefinitely divided or sep¬ 
arated into parts, but is an absolute unity which is an 
original, simple, and absolute Oneness, incapable of 
partition, separation, or division into parts of itself. 
REALITY can no more be divided than it can be 
added to, subtracted from, or multiplied. Its absolute 
unity cannot be attacked, defeated, or impaired by 
division or partition. Being ultimate, it is incapable 
of further analysis, division, or separation. If it could 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


51 


be divided or separated into parts, it would cease to be 
ultimate. If there were two or more ultimates, neither 
would be ultimate; there would be no ultimate at all. 
If there were two or more infinites, neither would be 
infinite; there would be no infinite at all. Remember 
the truism, “The infinite must be absolute unity.” 
The idea of the ultimate and infinite being trans¬ 
formed into many non-ultimate, finite things is absurd 
and unthinkable. It would defy the Primary Laws of 
Thought, for REALITY is always itself, and cannot be 
other than itself. 

REALITY cannot be divided, separated, or parted, 
because (1) there is nothing to divide, separate, or 
part it; (2) nothing with which it may be divided, 
separated, or parted; (3) nothing to fill into the space 
between the divided, separated, or parted parts. 

Even the conception of Materialism, which postulates 
the existence of Matter as Ultimate Principle, or that 
of Science, which asserts the Ether to be Ultimate 
Principle, does not assume that this Ultimate Principle 
is divisible. On the contrary, it expressly and posi¬ 
tively holds that Ultimate Principle is indivisible, as 
indeed every conception of Ultimate Principle must so 
hold. Materialism holds that there is an Ultimate 
Universal Principle, called either Matter, Substance, 
Energy, or Universal Ether (according to the particular 


52 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


school of Materialism), and that all shapes, forms, and 
activities are merely centers of activity or energy in 
that Ultimate Principle. The Universal Principle is 
held to be indivisible, continuous, without parts, in¬ 
capable of separation or division into parts. The word 
“parts” is used merely figuratively in materialistic 
philosophy. To admit of divisibility, or “parts,” in 
the Universal Ether would be to destroy its claimed 
ultimate nature. 

The very conception of Ultimate Principle, by what¬ 
ever name it may style the same, must carry with it 
the conception of indivisibility. Partition means “to 
part from”; the reason refuses to consider that any¬ 
thing can be parted from Ultimate Principle. 

Omnipresent Totality. 

It is also a logical necessity that an Infinite Unity 
must be present in its totality, wherever it is present 
at all. A Universal Unity must be infinite, and an 
Infinite must be an Universal Unity; there is no log¬ 
ical escape from this conclusion. Infinite Unity can 
have no “parts”; it is a Whole wherever it is present. 
And it must be present everywhere, being infinite. So 
that, again, it is seen that the Infinite Unity must be 
present everywhere in its totality of being. REAL- 


THE MASTERY OF BEING . 


53 


ITY is thus seen to be omnipresent in its totality at 
all times. 

An Error of Pantheism. 

The fact of the indivisibility of REALITY also 
serves to refute the idea of a certain form of Panthe¬ 
ism now so popular under various names. The funda¬ 
mental principle of this form of Pantheism is that 
“the One becomes the Many” by separation or division 
into “parts.” The expression that everything and 
everybody is “a part of God” is seen to be a fallacy 
when the necessary fact of the indivisibility of ultimate 
substance is seen. Nothing can be a “part” of that 
which is indivisible. By the very nature of its being, 
the Infinite can never become many finites; the Eternal 
can never become many temporalities, for the element 
of time, beginning and ending, is introduced into the 
problem by the separation. Each Infinite fact of RE¬ 
ALITY is denied by division and separation, and finite 
facts are substituted. From any point of view, from 
every aspect of consideration, divisibility must be denied 
of Ultimate Principle, by whatever name we may call 
it. Therefore REALITY is perceived to be Indivisible. 

AXIOM OF IMMUTABILITY. 

FIFTEENTH AXIOM OF REALITY: REALITY is 
Immutable. 

By “Immutable” is meant “changeless; unchange- 



54 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


able; incapable of change; not susceptible to change; 
invariable; constant; stable; unalterable.” 

From our consideration of REALITY we perceive 
that it is immutable, in the full sense of the term as 
above stated, by the very fact of its essence, nature, 
substance, and very being. This is the inevitable report 
of reason. Change is the characteristic of the finite 
forms of the phenomenal world; it has naught to do 
with Ultimate Principle. Change implies subjection 
to the laws of Time and Causation, but REALITY is 
eternal, causeless, and original. Change would defeat, 
nullify, and destroy every infinite fact of REALITY— 
the very ultimate nature of REALITY itself. Change 
is utterly and absolutely opposed to every fact of the 
essence, nature, substance, and principle of REALITY. 
It is seen to be unthinkable in connection with RE¬ 
ALITY. If REALITY is subject to Change, then it 
is not Ultimate Principle at all, and we must look still 
further for Ultimate Principle, for the very spirit of 
the conception of Ultimate Principle depends upon its 
immutability. Reason demands and will accept noth¬ 
ing less than A CHANGELESS GROUND FOR THE 
CHANGING FORMS OF THE UNIVERSE. 

There is nothing else than itself into which REAL¬ 
ITY can change itself or can be changed, for REAL¬ 
ITY is All-that-IS. There is nothing else that could 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


55 


so change it. REALITY can never be more, or less, 
or other than itself. If it were to change itself, or be 
changed into Something Else, them there would no 
longer be REALITY; REALITY would have disap¬ 
peared. The new and changed thing would have begun 
in time and thus become timed and not eternal. It 
cannot be supposed that REALITY can “change its 
form,” for it has no form to change, and cannot be¬ 
come formed by reason of its infinite nature. 

Moreover,—and this is the final reason,—by the pri¬ 
mary laws of thought we are compelled to hold that 

(1) whatever IS is always itself and never not itself; 

(2) the essential nature, substance, and very being of a 
thing is always the same no matter how different the 
forms, shapes, or conditions under which the thing 
occurs, presents itself, or appears. This being so, 
then REALITY can never be other than itself; can 
never change itself into something else. Consequently 
the infinite variety of the forms, shapes, or conditions 
in which REALITY occurs, presents itself, or appears 
in the phenomenal world arise not from actual change; 
they are merely appearances, presentations, occurrences 
on the outer surface of things, not disturbing in the 
least the essence, nature, substance, and reality of 
REALITY beneath the surface. This is a most im¬ 
portant fact in the inquiry for REALITY—probably 


56 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


the most important fact. And it should be impressed 
firmly upon the mind, for it determines the status of 
every object of manifestation—of YOU who read these 
lines. It serves to determine what you are. 

Another Error of Pantheism. 

It will be seen that this fact of the Immutability of 
REALITY, when clearly conceived, must serve to con¬ 
fute and refute the erroneous theories of certain schools 
of Pantheism which hold that “God becomes the Uni¬ 
verse by changing into the Universe.” Thus it is sought 
to identify Nature with God, whereby, as Schopenhauer 
said, “you show God to the door.” If God changes 
Himself into The Phenomenal Universe, then God is 
non-existent and we need not concern ourselves any 
more about Him, for he has committed suicide by 
Change. In such case there is no God, no Infinite, no 
Immutable, no Eternal; everything has become finite, 
temporal, separate, a mere union of diverse finite parts. 
In that case are we indeed adrift in the Ocean of 
Diversity. We have lost our Foundation of REAL¬ 
ITY, and are but ever-changing “parts” of physical 
things governed by physical laws. Then, indeed, would 
be true the idea of some of the old philosophies that 
“there is No Being; merely a Becoming.” Then 
would there, in truth, be nothing constant, the universe 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


57 


never the same for two consecutive moments, with no 
permanent ground of REALITY to support it. But 
the reason of man, the very essence of his mental being, 
refuses to so think of That-which-IS. In his heart 
of hearts he recognizes the existence of THAT- 
WHICH - CHANGES - NOT, THAT-WHICH - IS - 
ETERNAL, THAT-WHICH-IS-REALITY. 

Tiie “Evolving God.” 

Moreover, the idea of the immutability of REAL¬ 
ITY must serve to confute the erroneous idea of certain 
schools of metaphysics which assert the existence of 
“an Evolving God”; that is, a God which increases in 
intelligence, nature, and being by reason of the change 
of the universe, which is an expression of Himself. 
This conception is that of a Supreme Being who is 
growing, developing, and increasing in efficiency, wis¬ 
dom, power, and character. This is an attempt to 
combine the anthropomorphic deity and the pantheistic 
Nature-God. The conception is clearly anthropomor¬ 
phic, as it seeks to attribute to God the qualities and 
characteristics of man. It defies every fact of Ultimate 
Principle of REALITY. It is extremely unphilo- 
sophic and will not stand the test of logical examina¬ 
tion. 

This last mentioned conception vitiates the fact of 


58 


THE MASTERY OF BEING . 


immutability and also brings in the element of Time in 
the improvement, development, evolution, and changes 
mentioned. Moreover, it overlooks the fact that if 
time holds the possibility of any improvement of the 
Supreme Being, then that Supreme Being must have 
improved and developed to the fullest extent already. 
For, as it has had “all the time there is” for improve¬ 
ment in the Eternity behind it,—time extending back 
to infinity,—it cannot have more time for improvement 
in the eternity before it—the infinity of time of the 
future. If it can accomplish anything in the future 
of eternity, then it must have been able to accomplish 
the same thing in the past of eternity. It has had as 
much time already as it can ever hope to have in the 
future. Infinite time is behind it as well as before it. 

The only other alternative to the above is that the 
Evolving God has slept throughout all past eternity 
and only waked up an aeon or so ago and began to 
grow and increase its wisdom; or that it lacked the 
desire or will to evolve until a few billions of years 
ago, when its ambition was aroused. Childish idea of 
anthropomorphism in a new form! Not only is the 
idea of the Evolving God childish, but it is also im¬ 
possible. For there can be no Change or Improvement 
in Ultimate BEALITY, whether we call it God, Spirit, 
or Matter. Whatever IS is itself and can never be 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


59 


other than itself. Moreover, the very idea of ultimate¬ 
ness carries with it the idea of perfection and complete¬ 
ness. If ultimate excellence is a matter of evolution 
in time for the Evolving God, then, reversing the 
process, we may imagine the Evolving God as having 
been in an infinitely undeveloped state and condition 
away back in the infinite past. The conception is 
scarcely worthy of a moment’s serious consideration. 
We mention it merely because unthinking persons have 
been caught by the idea as advanced by illogical teach¬ 
ers. 

By its very essence, nature, substance, and reality, 
REALITY must be complete, perfect, infinite, and 
ultimate. To such REALITY there can come no 
change; it must be immutable from the very facts of 
its existence. Therefore, REALITY is perceived to be 
immutable, changeless, unchangeable, incapable of 
change, not susceptible to change, invariable, constant, 
stable, unalterable. 


Part II.—SPIRIT. 


CHAPTER VII. 


Reality is Spirit. 


TATEMENT: REALITY is SPIRIT; SPIRIT is 



REALITY. Such is the high report of the 


P >—J philosophical reasoning of the human mind in 
its search for a fitting term for its concept of REALITY. 

There have been philosophers who claimed that Real¬ 
ity is Substance; others that it is Energy; others that 
it is Life; others that it is Mind; others that it is Law. 
But each of these conceptions is perceived to be but 
a partial statement of a greater fact. Reality is sub¬ 
stance, energy, life, mind, and law—and yet is greater 
than any one of these by itself. It combines the nature 
of each and yet transcends them considered separately. 

There is but one term which begins to express the 
concept of the nature of Reality—the term “SPIRIT.” 

The term “SPIRIT,” originally clear in conception 
and meaning, has become more or less uncertain by 
reason of common and ignorant usage. We must go 
to its source in order to perceive it in its original purity. 



THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


61 


It is derived from the Latin word spiritus, which had 
its origin in the Older Latin word spirare, meaning “to 
breathe/’ The term “breath” (in its various forms in 
the different ancient languages) was always used by the 
philosophers, metaphysicians, theologians, and mystics 
in its esoteric or inner sense, and not in the exoteric or 
outer sense of physical respiration. The writer of the 
book of Genesis, whether he be Moses or some other 
man well versed in esoteric lore, was fully aware of this 
esoteric phase of the term. He says: “And the Lord 
God formed man of the dust of the ground, and 
breathed into his nostrils the breath of life” (Genesis 
ii: 7). In the original Hebrew text we find this sen¬ 
tence terminating with the words “nesliemet ruach 
chayim” the exact translation of which is “the breath 
of the Spirit of Life.” In the ancient Hebrew the word 
<c neshemet” meant the ordinary physical breath; while 
the word ee ruach” meant “the Spirit of Life.” In the 
Hebrew scriptures, and those of other peoples, we find 
a constant repetition of the words which can be trans¬ 
lated only into the English “Spirit,” the esoteric or 
inner sense alwaj^s being clearly indicated. We find 
statements similar to “God is Spirit,” etc., in all the 
sacred writings of the race. Only the densest mind 
could imagine that these writers meant that the Su¬ 
preme Being was to be considered as a breath of air. 


62 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


On the contrary, the term “Spirit,” in its various forms 
and equivalents, always has indicated THE ESSENCE 
OF LIFE AND BEING. We find it so used in the 
Christian Keligion, as, for instance, “The Spirit, Holy 
Spirit, Holy Ghost,” etc. In “Holy Ghost” the word 
“ghost” is used in its original sense, in which it was 
identical with “spirit.” In the original Greek the term 
“Holy Spirit” is employed, but in the translation the 
Anglo-Saxon term was substituted. The original sense 
is indicated in the passage “were all filled with the 
Holy Ghost, and began to speak with tongues as 
the Spirit gave them utterance.” The Greek term 
“Pneuma” is equivalent to the English term “Spirit,” 
and, like the Latin term from which the English one 
is derived, had its exoteric meaning of “physical 
breath” and its esoteric meaning of “Spirit.” 

The essence of the term “Spirit” has always been 
that of the idea of immateriality. Even in its wider 
and broader usage the term “spirit” is seen to carry 
with it the idea of “essence,” essential substance, essen¬ 
tial energy, essential nature, essential being, essential 
mind, essential life. We find the various definitions of 
the several usages of “Spirit,” as follows: “Life in 
itself; Life or living substance considered independently 
of corporeal existence; the immaterial part of man; the 
soul, in distinction from the body in which it resides; 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


63 


a disembodied soul, energy, vivacity, ardor, enthusiasm, 
etc.; temper or disposition of mind; intent or real 
meaning as opposed to the letter or formal statement; 
characteristic quality, as ‘the spirit of the enterprise/ 
etc.; tenuous, volatile, airy, or vaporous substance 
possessed of active qualities; and, finally, that which 
pervades and tempers the whole nature of a thing; the 
active, vital, or essential part of anything; essence, 
quintessence, actuating principle.” 

In this inquiry the term “SPIRIT” is used in the 
sense of the Ultimate Reality, Ultimate BEING, the 
ULTIMATE ESSENCE, NATURE, SUBSTANCE, 
AND VERY BEING OF ALL-THAT-IS. In reality 
“SPIRIT” defies definition; and yet the human mind 
seeks intuitively to grasp the general idea sought to 
be conveyed. We feel assured that each student of 
these lessons also will so intuitively sense the idea 
sought to he conveyed in and by the term. 

The term “SPIRIT” is applied to the UNCHANG¬ 
ING REALITY—this essence, nature, substance, and 
principle of All-that-IS—not in the spirit of close or 
arbitrary definition." Such an attempt would be absurd 
and most unphilosophical, for the very facts of its 
being render SPIRIT undefinable. It is over and 
above comparison and resemblance to any of the things 
of phenomenal appearance. It can be expressed only 


64 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


in its own terms. It is elusive and ever-evasive. As 
Spinoza said, "To define God is to deny Him.” The 
term "SPIRIT” has been employed merely because it 
is the one term in the language which seems to lend 
itself to the idea or conception of Ultimate REALITY. 
It indicates essential substance, essential energy, essen¬ 
tial being, essential life, essential mind, and essential 
nature. 

As Edgar Allan Poe once said of the term: "This 
merest of words, and some other expressions of which 
the equivalents exist in nearly all languages, is by no 
means the expression of an idea, but of an effort at one. 
It stands for the possible attempt at an impossible con¬ 
ception. Man needed a term by which to point out the 
direction of this effort—the cloud behind which lay, 
forever invisible, the object of this attempt. A word, 
in fine, was demanded by means of which one human 
being might put himself in relation at once with an¬ 
other human being and with a certain tendency of the 
human intellect. Out of this arose this term, which is 
thus the representative but of the thought of a thought. 
* * * The fact is that, upon the enunciation of any 
one of that class of terms to which this belongs,—the 
class representing thoughts of thought, —he who Jias a 
right to say that he thinks at all feels himself called 
upon not to entertain a conception, but simply to direct 


THE MASTERY OF BEING . 


65 


his mental vision toward some given point in the intel¬ 
lectual firmament where lies a nebula never to be 
solved. To solve it, indeed, he makes no effort, for 
with a rapid instinct he comprehends, not only the 
impossibility, but, as regards all human purposes, the 
inessentiality of its solution. He sees at once how it 
lies out of the brain of man, and even how, if not 
exactly why, it lies out of it.” 

G. E. Moore says: “Common to all meanings of 
‘Spirit’ is the conception of that which is conscious. 
Consciousness itself is not conceived as being Spirit, 
but as being an attribute of it; so that Spirit is con¬ 
ceived as something capable of existing even when it 
is not conscious. On the other hand, there is no posi¬ 
tive .conception of what this permanent element in 
Spirit is; it is only conceived abstractly as that (what¬ 
ever it may be) which is the substance or subject of 
consciousness, and negatively as not identical with any 
known quality.” 

So it will be seen that we use the term “SPIRIT” 
merely from its convenience and general fitness, and 
not from any desire to insist upon an arbitrary defini¬ 
tion of that which defies definition. If the word “BE¬ 
ING” seems better to fit the requirements of any 
individual student, by all means let him use it. We 
are concerned with ideas, not with words. For him 


66 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


who would ask for a synonymous concept, we suggest 
the association of our term “SPIRIT” with Herbert 
Spencer’s “Infinite and Eternal Energy, from which all 
things proceed.” As we go on, the idea of SPIRIT 
will be brought out more clearly by contrast with phe¬ 
nomenal appearances and qualities. 

In the following chapters the term “SPIRIT” is 
employed in the place and sense of “REALITY.” 


CHAPTER VIII. 


The Substance of Spirit. 


S TATEMENT: SPIRIT is Substance; its Substance 
is the only Substance, and all the Substance 
there is, yet it is Immaterial Substance. 


This statement announces the fact of the All-Sub¬ 
stance of SPIRIT. We have seen that “Substance” 
means “that which underlies all outward manifesta¬ 
tions; that which constitutes anything what it is; real 
and existing essence , nature, or being; that which con¬ 
stitutes the Thing-in-Itself as distinguished from its 
appearances or outward manifestations.” The state¬ 
ment also announces the fact of the Immateriality of 
Spiritual Substance. 

The reason demands substantiality in any and every 
thing. It is unable to think of an unsubstantial thing. 
The very idea of Thingness is bound up with that of 
Substance. When we think of “mind” or “spirit,” we 
are really picturing a subtle, refined state of substance. 
A non-substantial thing is a Nothing. In theology the 
term “Substance” is used in connection with Deity, in 
connection with “essence, nature, and being.” 


68 


the mastery of being. 


The report of the reason is that SPIRIT not only 
must be Substantial but also that it must be Substance 
itself. As SPIRIT is held to be the “essence, nature, 
substance, and very being of All-that-IS,” it follows 
that it must be Substance and All-Substance. It is 
Substance by reason of the very facts of its nature. 
It is All-Substance because there is nothing else to 
furnish Substance, or to be Substance. SPIRIT being 
All-there-IS in REALITY, then if Substance is in 
REALITY it must be identical with SPIRIT. The 
reality of Substance is reported by the reason. There¬ 
fore Substance must be considered as of SPIRIT, for 
there is nothing else for it to be, and nothing else to 
be it. 

Immateriality op Substance. 

In the same manner the reason reports the Imma¬ 
teriality of Substance. The illusion of the naive mind 
that Substance and Matter are identical is exposed by 
the trained reason. Matter is perceived by science and 
philosophy to be naught but a form of energy. It is 
composed of minute atoms, which in turn are composed 
of infinitesimal particles called ions or electrons , which 
are perceived to be but centers of energy and motion, 
and which are held to be but “appearances” in a hypo¬ 
thetical Something called the Universal Ether. Matter 
has melted into Immateriality, and is recognized as 


THE MASTERY OF BEING . 


G9 


purely phenomenal and having no existence as ultimate 
fact. 

The Universal Ether. 

The Universal Ether, which science now holds to be 
the basis of Matter and Material Energy, is a purely 
hypothetical Something-Uothing which science is com¬ 
pelled to postulate in order to account for certain forms 
of phenomena. It possesses none of the qualities of 
Matter, and is really Immaterial Substance. As on< 
authority says, “It must be Matter possessing the quali* 
ties of a vacuum.” It is held to be one, continuous, 
indivisible, inseparable, and not composed of parts of 
particles. 

Dolbear, a scientific authority on the subject, says: 
“If the Ether that fills all space is not atomic in struc¬ 
ture, presents no friction to bodies passing through it, 
and is not subject to gravitation, it does not seem 
proper to call it Matter. One might speak of it as 
‘Substance’ if he wants another name for it. As for 
myself, I make a sharp distinction between the Ether 
and Matter, and feel somewhat confused to hear one 
speak of the Ether as Matter.” 

Stockwell, another authority, says: “The Ether is 
coming to be apprehended as immaterial, superphysical 
Substance, filling all space, carrying in its infinite 
throbbing bosom the specks of aggregated dynamic 


70 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


force called worlds. It embodies the ultimate spiritual 
principle, and represents the unity of those forces and 
energies from which spring, as their source, all phe¬ 
nomena, physical, mental, and spiritual, as they are 
known to man. * * * That the Ether is not Matter in 
any of its forms practically all scientists are agreed/’ 

Bigelow says: “You are all more or less familiar 
with that extraordinary entity upon whose inferential 
existence the lines of modern scientific thought seem 
to converge, the interstellar Ether, which seems likely 
to prove the ultimate form of matter out of which 
everything comes and everything must eventually re¬ 
turn. You know the seemingly contradictory qualities 
which the hypothesis involves,—how it is perfectly rigid 
and perfectly elastic, perfectly dense and perfectly pen¬ 
etrable, hot and cold, heavy and light, and so on as far 
as we like to go. But antinomies cannot condition ex¬ 
istence; and all this simply means that the Ether is 
unconditioned, an entity of no properties, or, more 
exactly, not an entity at all, but an infinite possibility.” 

Poe says: “There can be no two ideas more essen¬ 
tially different than that which we attach to a metal, 
and that which we attach to the Universal Ether. 
When we reach the latter, we feel an almost irresistible 
inclination to class it with Spirit, or with nihility. * * * 
Destroy the idea of the atomic constitution of the 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


71 


Universal Ether, and we are no longer able to regard 
the Ether as an entity, or, at least, as matter. For 
want of a better word we might term it Spirit.” 

Matter as Ultimate Substance has been denied by 
Materialism itself. No educated man, under sixty 
years of age, to-day holds that Matter is ultimate, nor 
denies that it is merely phenomenal appearance. Sci¬ 
ence has retreated, or advanced, to the hypothesis of the 
Universal Ether, and the latter is held to be Imma¬ 
terial. All schools of advanced and scientific thought 
are now practically agreed that Ultimate Substance is 
Immaterial, and Haeckel, one of the most radical think¬ 
ers of science, is reported as saying in a recent address 
that Ultimate Substance “may as well be called Spirit 
as anything else.” 

Solidity of Substance. 

Those who have been naively identifying Substance 
with hardness or solidity are reminded here that these 
qualities of matter are purely relative, and depend 
solely upon the rate of vibration of the particles and 
their degree of cohesion or “holding together.” Raise 
the vibration and the molecules fly farther apart from 
each other, and the hardness and solidity depart. The 
most solid steel is no more substantial than the same 
steel when it is dissolved into gas. The invisible steam 


72 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


is quite as substantial as the same thing when it is 
frozen into a block of hard ice. In fact, the higher 
the vibrations of Matter, the more energy is displayed 
by it and the more real do its activities become. The 
universe in its former nebulous state was just as real 
as it is in a condition of solidity. Solidity is merely 
a comparative quality of Matter, and has no connection 
whatever with substantiality. Electricity, magnetism, 
light, and heat are just as substantial as steel, granite, 
or diamond. And mind is more substantial than either 
of these, at the last. 

It may be of interest to students in this connection 
to note that in the opinion of eminent scientific authori¬ 
ties any substance, no matter how rare, subtle, tenuous, 
or intangible it might be, if it be continuous, without 
particles, and non-atomic in structure, would be abso¬ 
lutely rigid and infinitely more firm than the hardest 
steel. This because there would be no “give” to it, no 
possible compression of atomic particles or parts, there 
being no particles or parts to compress and “give.” 
Such a substance would be absolutely unyielding. So 
true is this held to be that science has seriously con¬ 
sidered the fact in its conception of the Universal Ether 
as continuous and non-atomic, as undivided and indi¬ 
visible. It has been held that if the Universal Ether 
is undivided and indivisible, then the apparently solid 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 73 

bodies of Matter cannot pass through it, but that the 
latter (Matter) being atomic and divisible in structure, 
may allow the Ether to pass through it instead of it 
passing through the Ether. Thus a planet would not 
pass through the Ether, that being impossible, but the 
Ether would pass through the planet and thus allow 
the free motion of the latter. For the practical pur¬ 
poses of the motion of the stellar bodies it makes no 
difference whether they be conceived as passing through 
the Ether or the Ether passing through them. This 
fact, admitted by science, should give the student some 
new ideas and thoughts on the matter of the solidity 
of substance. 

Spiritual Substance. 

The essence of the idea of “Substance,” then, is as 
follows: (1) Something underlying and supporting; 
(2) that which is the inmost and real essence or nature 
of a thing; (3) that which is real, actually existing or 
being, as distinguished from anything existing merely 
in fancy, dream, or imagination, and therefore unreal 
and not existent in fact. SPIKIT is seen to agree 
with each of these meanings of the term. 


CHAPTER IX. 


The Energy, Life, and Law of Spirit. 

S TATEMENT: SPIRIT is Energy; its Energy is 

the only Energy, and all the Energy there is, 
yet it is Immaterial Energy. 

This statement announces the Energism of SPIRIT, 
the All-Energy of SPIRIT, and the Immateriality of 
Spiritual Energy. “Energy” means “power, force, or 
capacity for acting, operating, or producing an effect” 
The reason reports that Energy exists in actual 
being. Without Energy there could be no manifesta¬ 
tion or expression of the activity of SPIRIT. Energy 
being recognized as in actual being, it is perceived 
that All-Energy must be Spiritual Energy, and Spirit¬ 
ual Energy must be All-Energy. There is nothing else 
to manifest or be Energy except SPIRIT, and no 
phase of Energy is possible except Spiritual Energy. 
Moreover, Spiritual Energy must be an essential fact 
of SPIRIT, and therefore SPIRIT is identified with 
Energy and Energy with SPIRIT. SPIRIT is Energy 
itself. 

Immaterial Energy. 

The statement also announces that Spiritual Energy 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


75 


is Immaterial. We have seen in the consideration of 
the preceding statement that Matter is purely phenom¬ 
enal and has no basis in ultimate fact. Therefore the 
Energy of Matter is perceived also to be phenomenal 
and without basis in ultimate fact. Material Energy 
springs from the vibration of the particles of Matter, 
the vibrations arising from the attraction existing be¬ 
tween particles or masses of Matter. This attraction is 
held by Haeckel and others to be mental in nature, and 
to arise from semiconscious sensation and the response 
of the will thereto. This would take the whole ques¬ 
tion of Energy from Matter and into Mind. Other 
scientific authorities hold that all forms of Energy 
emanate from the Universal Ether, which is held to be 
Ultimate Energy. In either case Energy is seen to be 
Immaterial in its essence and nature, although as Ma¬ 
terial Energy it manifests through and in Matter. 
But there also is Mental Energy to be considered—and 
that is clearly Immaterial. The “Infinite and Eternal 
Energy” of Herbert Spencer is Immaterial and is 
closely akin to the conception of SPIRIT. Energy, 
from any viewpoint, when examined closely, is seen to 
be absolutely Immaterial, as the statement announces. 


Will Energy. 

There have been many eminent philosophers who 


76 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


have held that the one thing which meets all the require¬ 
ments of Energy in all of its forms and manifestations 
is a Principle of WILL. The Will is a most mysteri¬ 
ous element of mind and action, and seems to be an 
ultimate principle of activity, mind, and life. It is the 
pirit of action in all mental and vital processes and 
manifestations, and Schopenhauer and others have dem¬ 
onstrated very clearly that it may be easily conceived 
of as the moving power immanent in the activities of 
Matter and mechanical processes. The Buddhists also 
hold to this idea. Modern Science is rapidly approach¬ 
ing this position also. At the last all Energy is per¬ 
ceived as WILL. In this case the Will, which is 
Universal Energy, must be identified with SPIRIT, 
for there is nothing else to be Will or manifest Will. 

STATEMENT: SPIRIT is Life; its Life is the only 

Life, and all the Life there is, yet it is Immaterial Life. 

This statement announces the Lifeness and All-Life 
of SPIRIT, and that Spiritual Life is not phenomenal 
life. It is difficult to define Life except in its own 
terms. It is held to be distinguished by at least a 
degree of consciousness, accompanied with the power 
and ability to manifest voluntary movement. In short, 
Life is seen to depend for its existence upon Mental 
Powers. Mind is said to be the “lifeness” of Life. 


THE MASTERY OF BEING . 


There is no Life without Mind, and no Mind without y" 
Life. Life, then, is but another name for Mind. 

SPIRIT is perceived by the reason to be identical 
with Life. A lifeless SPIRIT could not manifest and 
express activity of any kind. If SPIRIT had not Life 
there would be no living, acting, moving universe or 
any part thereof. But SPIRIT must be more than 
“alive.” Life must be an essential fact of SPIRIT, 
for it is perceived to be in actual being. Life is 
seen to be identical with SPIRIT. SPIRIT is Life 
itself. There is nothing else for Life to be but 
SPIRIT, and nothing else to be Life but SPIRIT. 
Moreover, SPIRIT must be All-Life, for there is noth¬ 
ing else but SPIRIT to manifest or to be Life. 

But Spiritual Life cannot be material life, for the 
latter has its beginning and ending in time and mani¬ 
fests many facts directly opposed to actual being. 
Material life meets with none of the requirements of 
actual being, and is clearly phenomenal in all of its 
facts. Its only reality is based upon the immanence 
and manifestation of Spiritual Life in its forms, ^ 
phases, and activities. Spiritual Life is the support 
and sustaining essence of phenomenal life. 

Phenomenal forms were formerly divided into two 
classes, viz.: (1) living forms and (2) lifeless forms. 

But Science now perceives that there is nothing lifeless 


78 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


in the universe; that the universe and everything in 
it is alive and vital. Life is perceived even in the 
atoms of matter. As Luther Burbank says: “All my 
investigations have led me away from the idea of a 
dead universe tossed about by various forces to that of 
a universe which is absolutely all life, soul, thought, 
or whatever name we choose to call it. All life on our 
planet is, so to speak, just on the outer fringe of this 
infinite ocean of force. The universe is not half dead 
hut all alive!* 

STATEMENT: SPIRIT is Law; its Law is the only 

Law, and all the Law there is, yet it is Immaterial Law. 

This statement announces the Law of SPIRIT, the 
All-Law of SPIRIT. There are many definitions of 
“Law,” but the most comprehensive in our consideration 
of the term is that which is used in mathematics, which 
is as follows: “Law is the rule according to which 
anything proceeds; the mode or order of sequence!* 

The presence of Law is recognized by the reason. It 
is seen in constant manifestation in the universe. It is 
perceived to be in actual being, in its essence. There 
is no other source for Law than SPIRIT. Law is per¬ 
ceived to be an essential fact of SPIRIT and is identi¬ 
fied with it. SPIRIT is Law itself. SPIRIT is a 
Law-unto-Itself and Law-in-Itself, and its Law must 



TEE MASTERY OF BEING. 


79 


govern all manifested by it. There is nothing else to 
manifest Law, or to be Law, other than SPIRIT. 
Therefore SPIRIT is seen to be Law. Moreover, by 
the same reasoning, Spiritual Law is seen to be all 
the Law there is; there is no other Law possible. 

Pure Logic of Law. 

In the consideration of the processes and activities 
of the universe it is perceived that all sequence is 
orderly and regular and in accordance with Law. In 
short, all universal processes manifest the processes of 
PURE LOGIC. The universal processes are seen to be 
logical, proceeding from cause to effect with unerring 
and invariable direction. Given certain causes, and 
certain results follow. The Universal Law is seen to 
be a purely logical (and therefore mental) operation. 
Universal Law is evidence of Universal Mind. As an 
authority says: “Observing the uniformity, the im¬ 
mutability of the processes of nature, we recognize that 
every fact has its antecedent, and this again its own, 
and so on, until in retracing the processes we lose our¬ 
selves, after fewer or more steps, in the single universal 
cause. We lose ourselves in infinity; we recognize the 
manifestations, the workings of the eternal power in 
ourselves as well as in nature generally. And we know 
from history, human, geological, and astronomical, that 


80 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


thus has nature manifested herself since time has re¬ 
corded. jThe universal energy works through us. We 
really originate nothing, we initiate nothing. We orig¬ 
inate no force or energy any more in the world of mind 
than in the world material. * * * We are agents in the \ 
hands of the Creator: instruments of the universal 
energy; conscious instruments, intelligent agents, but 
controlled—controlled both through the mind and the 
body. * * * The will of the Almighty is our will. We 
originate nothing, and when by our actions we modify 
anything, it is as links in the endless chain of nature’s [ 
sequences. We are phases of the eternal energy. And 
the interacting circumstances of individuality and en¬ 
vironment which determine our actions owe their exist- \ 
ence at any given moment simply and wholly to the j 
natural course or sequence of events.” 

One of the world’s greatest scientists of a past gen¬ 
eration uttered the following magnificent phrase, based 
upon the result of his life work and investigation: 
“The Universe is governed by LAW!” And all thought 
worthy of the name acquiesces in his statement. 
Everything is under Law. There is nothing Lawless. 
There is no such thing as Chance. Chance is but a 
name for “laws not recognized or perceived.” The 
universe, and everything in it, proceeds in an eternal 
procession of absolutely regular and orderly sequence. 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


81 


There are no exceptions to Universal Law. And all 
laws are seen to proceed from one Law, and this One 
Law is seen to be the LAW of SPIRIT. 


CHAPTER X. 

The Mind of Spirit. 


TATEMENT: SPIRIT is Mind; its Mind is the 



only Mind, and all the Mind there is, yet it is 


Immaterial Mind, and not Material Mind or 
Thought. 

This is a statement of primary importance. It an¬ 
nounces the Mentalism of SPIRIT, the All-Mindness 
and Inclusive Mentality of SPIRIT. It is impossible 
to define “Mind” except in its own terms. Definitions 
of Mind are usually seen to be but attempts to define 
Thought. Mind may be considered as the SUB¬ 
STANCE in which Thoughts are formed and in which 
they appear. Mind has ever been recognized as some¬ 
thing ultimate and fundamental, something at the 
very center of Ultimate Reality. This recognition is 
accompanied by the perception that Mind must be 
SPIRIT and SPIRIT must be Mind. SPIRIT di¬ 
vorced from Mind is seen to be a Nothing; while Mind 
divorced from SPIRIT is naught but a word. The 
reason inevitably reports that All-Mindness must be in 
SPIRIT and that Spiritual Mind is all the Mind there 
is. There is nothing else to have or to be Mind other 


v 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


83 


than SPIKIT. Wherever Mind IS then that Mind 
must be Spiritual Mind. 

Mind and Thought. 

But the statement also makes the very important 
distinction between Mind and Thought. Thought, 
particular or universal, is but an activity of Mind. It 
is important to make and understand this essential dis¬ 
tinction between Mind and Thought. That which the 
majority of us have been calling Mind is really but 
Thought. Let us then see the distinction and differ¬ 
ence. We can understand Universal Mind and Uni¬ 
versal Thought only by analogy, by considering our own 
particular mind and thought and reasoning therefrom 
up to Infinity. 

Man knows his mind simply by reason of its 
thoughts, feelings, emotions, ideas, etc. He feels, has 
emotions; thinks, has ideas; imagines, has mental im¬ 
ages ; remembers, has representations of previous mental 
images, etc. All these he recognizes as incidents and 
manifestations of that mysterious Substantial Some¬ 
thing that he calls “Mind.” He is conscious of his 
mind (and of himself, lor that matter) only when he 
is aware of these manifestations of mind. Apart from 
them he might as well be dead, for if they did not 
exist he would not know that he himself existed or had 


84 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


a mind. To all intents and purposes his mind is but 
the totality of his thoughts, ideas, mental images, men¬ 
tal feelings, etc. Whatever else it may be he does not 
know and cannot tell. He is not aware of its existence 
otherwise. 

A celebrated German psychologist was wont to begin 
his first lecture of psychology by bidding his students 
to “Think about that wall opposite you.” They com¬ 
plied. Then he said, “How think about the thing that 
thinks about the wall. That thing is the mind, and is 
the subject-matter of psychology, our study.” 

A well-known American psychologist says: “You 
are obliged to say that the mind is one of three things: 
It is either (1) all of our thoughts and feelings, or (2) 
part of them, or (3) the thing that has thoughts and 
feelings—the thing that thinks and feels and wills. If 
you say that the mind is all or part of our thoughts 
and feelings, mental facts, it would be much plainer 
to say that psychology is the science of mental facts 
This gives us a very good illustration of the relations 
between SPIBIT and its Creation. 

“That Which Thinks.” 

The same authority also says: “What do we know 
about that which thinks, feels, and wills, and -what can 
we find out about it? Where is it? Y r ou will probably 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


85 


say, in the brain. But if you are speaking literally, 
if you say that it is in the brain, as a pencil is in the 
pocket, then you must mean that it takes up room, that 
it occupies space, and that would make it very much 
like a material thing. In truth, the more carefully 
you consider it, the more plainly you will see what 
thinking men have known for a long time,—that we 
do not know and cannot learn anything about that 
which thinks and feels and wills. It is beyond the 
range of human knowledge. * * * It seems to me, 
therefore, that it would be better to define psychology 
as the science of the experiences, phenomena, or facts 
of the mind or self—of mental facts, in a word.” 
Again, the figure or illustration holds good. The study 
of the Universe—Physical Science—is but the study of 
the Creation of SPIRIT, and SPIRIT itself is not to 
be perceived through sense-impressions, although its 
presence is recognized and it is seen necessary as a 
background of “fact.” 


Unknowable Mind. 

Psychology, the science of mental facts or manifesta¬ 
tions, informs us that Mind, in its essence, nature, 
substance, and very being, is Unknowable. We can 
know it only through its activities. And this is what 


86 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


might have been expected, for no thing can be both 
subject and object in itself. No thing, as subject, can 
perceive itself as object. The eye sees everything else, 

( but cannot see itself. The mind cannot be both ends 
of the stick at once. It cannot peer into the micro¬ 
scope and see itself therein. It cannot gaze into the 
telescope and see itself at the other end thereof. The 
mind can examine and analyze everything else, even 
its own states, thoughts, and activities, but it can never 
examine or analyze itself. It can never perceive itself 
in consciousness. Its consciousness can be only of 
things other than itself, including its own mental 
states. Consciousness without an object of conscious¬ 
ness is identical with unconsciousness. Therefore, 
Mind-in-Itself can never be known in consciousness by 
Mind itself. To itself it must always remain the Un¬ 
knowable; by itself it must always remain the Un¬ 
known. Herbert Spencer uttered an irrefragable truth 
when he said that Ultimate Reality in itself is Un¬ 
knowable. For Ultimate Reality, or SPIRIT, is 
identical with Infinite Mind and therefore must ever 
remain Unknowable even to itself. Mind in itself is 
beyond the range of mental knowledge. Efforts so to 
know it intellectually are akin to lifting one’s self by 
one’s boot straps. 


87 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 

Know able Mental States. 

But Thought may be known, for thoughts are mental 
states, manifestations, and activities. Man knows five 
forms of mental states or activities, viz.: (1) Sensa¬ 
tion, (2) Feeling or Emotion, (3) Intellect, (4) Idea¬ 
tion, and (5) Will. Let us now consider these in 
detail and at the same time consider whether or not 
SPIRIT, or Universal and Infinite Mind, may be 
thought to manifest each or any of these. 

(1). Sensation. 

In this class of mental states or activities are found 
all impressions, or consciousness of impression, made 
upon the mind through the medium of a nerve or one 
of the organs of sense. "Sense” is "a faculty possessed 
by animals of perceiving external objects by means of 
impressions made upon certain organs of the body, or 
of perceiving changes in the condition of the body.” 
All sensation is held to have evolved and developed 
from the original sense of "feeling” or "touch.” 
SPIRIT, or Universal Mind, cannot be conceived of 
as having sense organs or nerves whereby it might 
receive impressions of external objects or perceive 
changes in the condition of its body. There are no 
external objects to be sensed, no sense organs or nerves 
to sense them if they did exist, and no body to give 


88 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


rise to sensation of its change of condition. There¬ 
fore SPIRIT, or Universal Mind, cannot he thought 
of as manifesting or experiencing Sensation. This 
plane of mental activity belongs solely to the phenom¬ 
enal world. 


(2). Feeling or Emotion. 

In this class are comprised the feelings, emotions, 
desires, inclinations, etc., all of which are accounted 
for by psychology as results of the past experience of 
the individual or of the race continued in individual 
memory or race memory (instinct), and which may be 
traced step by step from their origin along the path¬ 
way of evolution. Every feeling, emotion, desire, or 
inclination has its origin and evolution, its natural his¬ 
tory. Certain experiences of the race or of the indi¬ 
vidual, continued in individual memory or racial 
instinct, result in the feelings, emotions, desires, or 
inclinations of the moment, which are awakened by the 
proper associations or environment or by physical and 
psychical reflexes. 

Feeling and Emotion have their origin in sense 
experience of the individual and of the race. This 
class of mental activities are seen to be purely phe¬ 
nomenal in their origin and nature, and reason reports 
that they have no place in actual being or SPIRIT. 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


89 


SPIRIT cannot be thought of as experiencing feelings, 
emotions, desires, or inclinations. The mere idea of 
SPIRIT having emotions, feelings, desires, and in¬ 
clinations is ludicrous, and yet the naive thought of 
the race is fond of attributing the emotions of love or 
hate, jealousy or love of praise, like and dislike, etc., 
to Deity or even to Abstract Principle of Being. The 
error arises from the natural tendency of the naive 
thinker to form anthropomorphic conceptions of Deity 
and Being, to make gods and principles from the ma¬ 
terials of himself. Hence arises the popular concep¬ 
tions of “personal gods,” the number and variety of 
which are countless. Reason reports the fact that 
SPIRIT, or Universal Mind, must be without feeling, 
emotion, desire, or inclination, as we understand these 
terms. This plane of mental activity belongs solely , 
. to the phenomenal world. 


CHAPTER XT. 


The Mind of Spirit — Continued. 

(3). Intellect. 

I N this class of mental states or activities we find 
the processes of reasoning and understanding. 
Reasoning consists in “the application of the 
primary and fundamental truths or principles which 
are the conditions of all real and scientific knowl¬ 
edge, and which control the mind in all its proc¬ 
esses of investigation and deduction/’ Understanding 
consists of “the logical faculty or power of apprehend¬ 
ing under general conceptions, or the power of classify¬ 
ings arranging, and making deductions.” It will be 
seen that the entire and whole process of Intellect 
depends entirely upon the existence of phenomenal 
objects of sense, past or present. Sensation and per¬ 
ception are unactive in absence of objects of sense, for 
they arise by reason of these objects. The higher in¬ 
tellectual faculties depend upon sensation and percep¬ 
tion for their materials of thought, and are seen to 
have developed from them by evolution. From simple 
sensation to the highest intellectual processes is seen 
to be but a series of steps of evolutionary development. 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


91 


Reason and Understanding, the intellectual faculties, 
are seen to consist of but a process of comparing pre¬ 
viously perceived impressions of sense objects, classify¬ 
ing and arranging them according to their perceived 
relations to other perceived objects, and making infer¬ 
ences or drawing deductions therefrom. From first 
to last Intellect is seen to be but a development of 
Sensation. The objects of Intellectual consideration 
are phenomenal objects; the highest forms of Intel¬ 
lectual activity are manifested in discovering the rela¬ 
tions between these objects and drawing conclusions 
therefrom. The Intellect, like the Emotion-Feeling 
plane of mind, is seen to originate from Sensation and 
to be purely phenomenal in nature and scope. It has 
no place in actual being, and SPIRIT, or Universal 
Mind, cannot be thought of as depending upon Intellect. 
Intellect has been evolved by SPIRIT or Universal 
Mind in order that certain of its created forms might 
exercise reason in their life and phenomenal existence. 
Intellect is born and perishes. That which begins in 
time must end in time. 

Moreover, SPIRIT, or Universal Mind, cannot be 
conceived of as “thinking” in the sense of reasoning 
or understanding by Intellect. Why should Infinite 
SPIRIT, or Universal Mind, which created all phe¬ 
nomenal things, be concerned in comparing them and 


92 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


deducing Truth therefrom? It would have no need to 
compare these things, for it has known all about them 
from their very beginning and before their beginning. 
There can be nothing about them that SPIRIT, or 
Universal Mind, does not know and has not always 
known. Their very existence is a proof that SPIRIT, 
or Universal Mind, knows all about them; without such 
knowing the things would not be in existence, for their 
only existence is in the Thought of Universal Mind, 
or SPIRIT. The idea of SPIRIT, or Universal Mind, 
depending for Truth upon the comparison of its own 
created things, is laughable. There is nothing for 
SPIRIT, or Universal Mind, to know. It is Com- ) 
plete and Perfect and cannot lack anything. It in 
itself being All-that-IS, there is nothing else to be 
known by it in Truth. 

Moreover, just as we find that Mind can never make 
an object of itself, so SPIRIT, or Universal Mind, can 
never make an object of itself for examination or an¬ 
alysis. The only report of the consciousness of Mind 
regarding itself is, at the last, simply "I AM.” The 
only Real Knowledge possible to SPIRIT, or Universal 
Mind, is, likewise, simply “I AM,” for that is all to be 
Known, and all that can be Known, for it is ALL 
THAT IS IK BEIKG. And in this final report of “I 
AM” from the human mind and the Universal Mind is 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


93 


found the proof that the former is a center of con¬ 
sciousness in the latter, and that the -“I” perceived at 
the center of individual consciousness is the dim recog¬ 
nition and realization of the “I” of the Universal Mind, 
or SPIRIT. 

The reason rejects the idea of Intellect in SPIRIT, 
or Universal Mind. There is no need for it there and 
its presence would rob SPIRIT, or Universal Mind, of 
its Infinity and Absoluteness, making it finite and 
dependent upon Intellect. 

The Pure Logic of Spirit. 

But before passing on let us say that although 
Intellect is rejected for SPIRIT, or Universal Mind, 
nevertheless reason recognizes in the Ideative and 
Imaginative processes—the Creative activities—of 
SPIRIT, or Universal Mind, the presence of PURE 
LOGIC. Intellect, in created things, is merely the 
manifestation of this original fact of SPIRIT, or Uni¬ 
versal Mind; Intellect shares in it consciously only as 
everything shares in it unconsciously. This PURE 
LOGIC of SPIRIT, or Universal Mind, is evident in 
and manifest throughout the entire universe and all 
the parts thereof. In our consideration of SPIRIT as 
All-Law we perceived the presence of the PURE 
LOGIC of SPIRIT in every manifestation of Law. 


94 


THE MASTERY OF BEING . 


The reason reports that the series and procession of 
ideas, appearances, images, and forms created by 
SPIRIT cannot be supposed to proceed in a disorderly, 
haphazard, chaotic manner. In even the smallest event 
or happening in the phenomenal universe, physical or 
mental, there is apparent the presence and operation of 
invariable Law. We cannot conceive of less in the 
Infinite Mind of SPIRIT. On the contrary, we would 
expect the presence and operation of Absolute Law and 
Order. We should expect that certain laws, being 
ideated, they would absolutely govern and determine 
the procession of ideative creations. In short, we should 
expect that there would be apparent the existence of 
what we have called the PURE LOGIC of SPIRIT 
in the ideative processes and appearances. “Logie” 
means “the science or art of exact reasoning, or of 
pure and formal thought, or of the laws according to 
which the processes of pure thinking should be con¬ 
ducted.” When we say a thing is “logical” we mean 
that it is in accordance with the highest reason. Ac¬ 
cordingly we should expect Absolute Logic from Ab¬ 
solute Mind, Pure Logic from Pure Mind. 

In the processes of the Infinite Mind of SPIRIT we 
should naturally expect that everything would proceed 
with absolute order, under absolute law, from so-called 
aause” to so-called “effect”; that there would be no 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


95 


“accidents” or “chance” or “exceptions” in such proc¬ 
esses; in short, that if an Absolute Reason could wit¬ 
ness the processes, it would always find everything, 
down to the smallest happening or thing, “according 
to reason and the laws of reason.” In the manifesta¬ 
tions of Infinite Mind there must ever be operative 
Absolute Law and Order in the determination of the 
creative activities and their creations. The reason re¬ 
fuses to accept any other conception; it demands the 
presence and operation of Absolute Law and Order, not 
Lawlessness and Disorder. It demands a Spiritual 
Cosmos, not a Spiritual Chaos. The idea of LAW 
cannot be divorced from the conception of Ultimate 
Reality—SPIRIT— even when considered in the terms 
of Infinite Mind. 

The PURE LOGIC of SPIRIT ever proceeds along 
the lines of what men call “Deductive Reasoning,” by 
which is meant the reasoning from principle to mani¬ 
festation, from general to particulars, from premise to 
conclusion, for so the PURE LOGIC of SPIRIT pro¬ 
ceeds invariably, inevitably, inexorably. From prin¬ 
ciple to manifestation, from general to particulars, 
from premise to conclusions it proceeds. For remem¬ 
ber, IT is the general, the universe the particulars; IT 
is the principle, the universe the manifestation; IT is 
the premise, the universe the conclusion. 


96 


THE MASTERY OF BEING . 


SPIRIT, or Universal Mind, in itself never uses its 
PITRE LOGIC along the lines of Inductive Reason, 
viz.: reasoning from particulars to general, from man¬ 
ifestation to principle; it does not need to do this, for 
the end of such reasoning would be merely to discover 
ITSELF. This form of reasoning is reserved for the 
Intellect of Man (or other and higher created beings 
which doubtless exist in other worlds). Man discovers 
principles in this way. Finally he discovers the PRIN¬ 
CIPLE of Principles and finds himself in the presence 
of the Ultimate Principle, the Original Premise— 
SPIRIT. And in finding this he has found ALL— 
has found Himself, his “I,” his VERY BEING. 

(4). Ideation. 

In this class of mental states or activities are found 
the ideative, imaging, or form-producing activities of 
the mind. “Ideative” means having the mental power, 
faculty, or capacity to form ideas. “Idea” is “mental 
image or form; whatever the mind perceives in itself.” 
An abstract idea is an image of a general class of 
things, symbolic in nature and of but vague form. 
An image is the idea of a particular or special thing 
having a decided form. All mental creative work is 
performed by the aid of the ideative and imaginative 
powers or faculties of the mind. In this class of men- 


THE MASTERY OF BEING . 


97 


tal activities we find the greater portion of all mental 
work and all creative activity. Without this plane of 
mentation there could be no intellectual work and no 
progress; in its absence life would consist merely of 
sensation and the immediate response thereto on the 
part of the will. 

Considering the question of SPIRIT, or Universal 
Mind, manifesting this class of mental creative activ¬ 
ity, we find that reason reports that not only can we so 
conceive but that also we must so conceive in order to 
account for the activities, manifestation, and expression 
of SPIRIT. Unless SPIRIT, or Universal Mind, is 
conceived as having and using this mental creative 
power of ideation and imagination, we cannot conceive 
it as creating at all. If we deprive it of this possi¬ 
bility and capacity, we deprive it of all power of ex¬ 
pression, manifestation, and activity. Moreover, the 
conception of this ideative and imaging power, raised 
to infinity, gives us the best and only adequate con¬ 
ception of the nature of Creation and the creation of 
Nature. 

We must relieve SPIRIT, or Universal Mind, of the 
necessity of drawing upon past experience, memory, or 
sense impressions for material for its ideative or imag¬ 
inative activities. Memory, or the recording and sub¬ 
sequent representation of past experiences of sensation, 


98 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


belongs to the phenomenal world and cannot be thought 
of as a fact of SPIRIT, or Universal Mind. All phe¬ 
nomenal objects are believed to carry with them mem¬ 
ories of individual and general past experience which 
persist for a certain time, but such memories arise and 
perish in time and are purely phenomenal in nature. 
SPIRIT, or Universal Mind, cannot be conceived as 
having memory or as being dependent upon it. On 
the contrary, it must be conceived as having the infinite 
power , possibility, and capacity of ORIGINAL CRE¬ 
ATION by ideation and imagination of Universal 
Mind. Dependence upon memory or past experience 
would condition and limit the Infinite and Absolute, 
which idea is contrary to reason. Moreover, if Crea¬ 
tion were dependent upon past experience there would 
never have been original Creation. Creation must be 
conceived of as Eternally Original. Memory belongs 
to phenomenal created things; original creation by 
ideation and imagination belongs to Universal Mind 
alone, which is SPIRIT. 


CHAPTER XII. 


The Mind of Spirit — Continued. 

(5). Will. 

I X this class of mental states or activities we find 
but one thing, and that a most wonderful 
thing—Will. We meet with a decided check 
when we reach the consideration of Will. We find 
something ultimate, basic, and elemental about it 
which reminds us of the difficulty experienced by the 
mind in considering itself. We find that Will is at the 
very center and in the very depths of that which we 
call “mind.” Will is the most elementary, and at the 
same time the least understood, form of mental activ¬ 
ity. It has always defied analysis. It seems to be 
fundamental and basic in the mental field of activity. 
Schopenhauer says: “The Will is the innermost es¬ 
sence, the kernel of every individual thing, and equally 
so of the totality of existence. * * * Intellect decreases 
as we descend in the animal scale, but not so Will.” 
The Will is the mental activity closest to the “I” of 
the individual. He may turn it upon perception and 
cause the activities thereof to quicken, become alert 
and active; he may turn it upon memory or imagination 


100 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


and cause these to redouble their activity; he may turn 
it upon thought and cause the thinking activities to do 
greater and better work. By employing the Will in the 
process of attention, he may cause certain ideas to oc¬ 
cupy and keep the center of the field of consciousness. 
An authority says: “Will concerns itself with action. 
* * * From the cradle to the grave we are never 
passive recipients of anything; in other words, we are 
never without the activity of Will in the broadest sense 
of the term/’ 

Professor Bigelow says: “We are conscious of some¬ 
thing closer to the center than anything else, and 
differing from the other forms in being the only form 
of consciousness to which we are not passive. This we 
call Will. We say, T feel sensation, pain, or emotion’; 
but we never say, T feel my Will.’ The Will is always 
j/ subjective and active. * * * This Will is a part of the 
normal consciousness of each one of you, yet it is 
neither a part of sensation nor emotion, but, on the 
contrary, is capable of dominating both. * * * Sensa¬ 
tions originate outside and inside the body; Emotions, 
inside. But the Will is deeper than either and they 
are both objective to it. We cannot classify it with 
anything else. We cannot describe it in terms of any 
other form of consciousness. * * * We cannot separate 
ourselves from it. We cannot stand off and examine 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


101 


it. We cannot modify it by anything else. It itself 
modifies everything within its scope. Other forms of 
consciousness are objective in their relation to it, but 
it is never objective to them. There is nothing in our 
consciousness deeper. It underlies and overlies and 
permeates all other forms, and, moreover,—what is of 
immeasurably greater importance,—it can, if need be, 
create them ” v 

Are we not justified in asserting the existence of 
Will in the Universal Mind of SPIRIT? Cannot 
we conceive of SPIRIT manifesting Will, without 
destroying or affecting in any way the facts of its 
essence, nature, substance, and very being? Nay, more, 
are we not compelled by reason to assert the fact of 
Will in SPIRIT? Do we not find in Will the reason 
and explanation of the creative activities manifest in 
the Universe? Some of the world’s clearest thinkers 
have gone so far as to assert that the One Ultimate 
Reality is Will, and nothing but Will. We do not go 
so far with them, but we find it impossible to deny the 
fact of Will in SPIRIT. Will is activity, first, last, 
and always. It is not only the active spirit of mind, 
but also the conative spirit. By “conative” is meant 
“of the nature of active power impelling to effort!' 
Will is seen not only as active power, but also as active 
power self-impelled to effort. Considering SPIRIT in 


102 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


the light of its manifested activities—by what it 
does, —we are justified in asserting that Will is an inner 
fact of SPIRIT. * 

Mentation of Spirit. 

We find, then, that, after divorcing the mental activ¬ 
ities wholly bound up with and dependent upon the 
phenomenal objects and Sense-Mind, there are three 
mental activities remaining which may be asserted as 
facts of the mind of SPIRIT, viz.: (1) the PURE 
LOGIC or Law of SPIRIT; (2) the ideative, con- 
ceptive, creative fact of Infinite Mind, which has the 
infinite power, possibility, and capability of creating 
and producing ideas and mental images; (3) the active, 
conative fact of Infinite Mind, known as Will, which 
has the infinite power, possibility, and capability for 
manifesting active, directing, and compelling creative 
power. Can we not see that in the action and reaction 
of the two facts of Infinite Mind the latter is capable 
of infinite manifestation and expression? 

Volition and Ideation. 

Let us listen to the authorities regarding the action 
and reaction of the Will and the Ideative processes in 
the human mind. By carrying the principle to the 
plane of Infinite Mind we may be able better to grasp 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


103 


the idea of the action and reaction on that plane. A 
leading authority says: “The Will appears in percep¬ 
tion in the form of attention, holding the mind on the 
object while the intellectual process is completing itself. 
* * * The Will shows special activity in thought. 
Consciousness is not made up of isolated ideas hut by 
ideas woven together in thought in the conscious mind. 
Weaving implies activity, and Will is behind that activ¬ 
ity; hence Will is necessary to correlate the facts of 
consciousness. In comparison, the Will is necessary to 
correlate the facts of consciousness. In comparison, the 
Will is busy fixing the attention and in dismissing and 
retaining ideas.” And, on the other hand, “In the 
higher type of action the Will can go out only in the 
direction of an idea. Every idea which becomes an ob¬ 
ject of desire becomes a motive. It is true that the 
Will tends to go in the direction of the greatest motive, 
that is, toward the object which seems the most desir¬ 
able; but the Will through voluntary attention puts 
energy into the motive idea and thus makes it strong. 
It is impossible to center the attention long on an idea 
without developing positive or negative interest, attrac¬ 
tion, or repulsion. Thus does the Will develop Motives. 
The Will determines which motive shall become the 
strongest by determining which ideas shall occupy the 
field of consciousness.” 


104 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


Thus we see on the one hand that the Will may 
determine or even create the idea; and, on the other, 
that the Will goes out in activity only in the direction 
of the idea. We find that the Will is master of the 
situation by reason of its ability to develop ideas by 
attention; while it is equally true that it can be induced 
to do so only by the motive arising from another idea. 
Thus do we see the action and reaction of these two 
mental forces. Each exerts an influence on the other 
and is in turn influenced by it. Each depends upon 
the other for completed activity and action. Without 
the other each is inactive. The action and reaction is 
comparable to that existing between the magnet and 
the steel filings. The energy in the filings is aroused 
only by the presence of the magnet; that of the magnet, 
only by the presence of the filings. The result is that 
the combined energies produce the shapes and forms 
of Creation. 


CHAPTER XIII. 


The Mind of Spirit—Concluded. 

PIRIT cannot be conceived as being conscious 
of anything but its own existence unless it 
first manifests ideative images, forms, ideas, 
etc., and thereupon becomes conscious of them. The 
Universal Mind of SPIRIT, in the absence of ideative 
images and forms, can have nothing other than its own 
existence of which to be conscious. Its state would be 
that of a man cut off from the time of his birth from 
all sense communication from the outside world and his 
physical body. Such a one would simply be conscious 
of his own existence, without a single other thought, 
idea, feeling, mental image, or conception. This must 
be true even if we raise Mind to infinity of Power and 
Being, for outside of SPIRIT there is nothing of which 
it can be conscious. Its only possibility and capability 
of being conscious lies in the creation of ideative forms 
and images in itself. Just as the man before men¬ 
tioned could become objectively conscious only by con¬ 
templating his own mental images, so can Infinite 
Mind become objectively conscious only by contem¬ 
plating its own mental creations, with this difference, 


106 


THE MASTERY OF BEING . 


however, that the man, by reason of his finiteness, could 
not create original images or ideas in his mind, while 
Infinite Mind must have the possibility and capability 
of so creating original images. The reason reports that 
SPIRIT can become conscious of naught but its own 
existence except by the creation of ideative forms and 
images. 

Moreover, consciousness necessitates constant change 
in the object of consciousness. Consciousness' of one 
invariable object soon ceases to be consciousness and 
fades by degrees into unconsciousness. In order to 
maintain consciousness it is necessary to have a con¬ 
stant flow of changing ideas or impressions pass before 
the field of consciousness. If we listen to a single note 
long continued, it fades from consciousness; if we gaze 
at a single unchanging object, we soon lose conscious¬ 
ness of that object. A single odor continually present¬ 
ing itself to us soon ceases to be sensed consciously; 
a feeling or sensation continuously present soon ceases 
to be noticed. Consciousness abhors monotony and 
necessitates constant change. The secret of this lies 
in the fact that consciousness is largely, if not entirely, 
dependent upon attention, and attention will not hold 
itself long upon a monotonous or unchanging object. 
Attention is either the focusing of consciousness or else 
the detention of an idea, impression, or image in con- 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


107 


sciousness. Attention soon declines if the stimulus 
does not vary and change, or if some new attribute is 
not discovered in the object or idea. There is no 
reason for doubting that, even when mind is raised 
to Infinity, and is seen to be Universal Mind, the 
facts of consciousness become different in nature. This 
being so, we should expect a continuous, ever-changing 
flow of ideas, images, and other products of ideation 
before the field of consciousness of the Universal Mind 
of SPIRIT. 


Universal Subconsciousness. 

Moreover, as in finite mind we recognize the great 
field of activities known as “the subconscious/’ in 
which consciousness shades by imperceptible gradua¬ 
tions into unconscious activities, so we may expect to 
find Universal Mind manifesting these lesser degrees 
of consciousness as well. We should expect to find that 
many of its activities are performed on the hidden 
planes of consciousness, to be brought into the bright 
light of the field of consciousness when required. 

The “Lifeness” of Spirit. 

Finally, we should expect to find the explanation of 
the activities toward consciousness, on the part of Uni¬ 
versal Mind as well as of finite mind, in the fact that 


108 


THE MASTERY OF BEING . 


consciousness is the essence of mind , and that mind is 
the essence of life. As it has been expressed, con¬ 
sciousness is the “mindness” of Mind, and Mind is the 
“lifeness” of Life. Just as the finite Mind strives ever 
for consciousness in order to manifest its “mindness” 
and “lifeness,” so may we think the Infinite Mind of 
SPIRIT, ever expressing its “lifeness” in consciousness. 
Mind without consciousness is not mind in its fullest 
expression, and life without consciousness is not life in 
its fullest expression. To actually and fully “live/’ 
consciousness must be manifest. We have seen that 
SPIRIT is the essence of Life. Being this, it must 
be regarded as living. Living, it must be conceived of 
as being conscious and thus expressing and manifesting 
its “lifeness.” The reason reports that the Universal 
Mind of SPIRIT may be thought of as manifesting 
consciousness, or conscious expression, in order to ex¬ 
press its own “lifeness.” Of course, such consciousness 
and such “lifeness” must be regarded as raised to infin¬ 
ity of possibility and capability, and its expressions and 
manifestations of consciousness must be thought of as 
on an infinite scale. 

Spirit as Universal Mind. 

Summing up the idea, we see that SPIRIT, con¬ 
sidered in terms of Universal Mind, may be thought of 



THE MASTERY OF BEING . 


109 


as (1) manifesting Ideation and Will; (2) forming 
ideative and creative ideas, mental images, pictures, or 
appearances by the exercise of Ideation and Will; (3) 
manifesting Law and Order, or Pure Logic, in its 
ideative, creative activities and manifestations; (4) 
manifesting its ideative, creative activities and manifes¬ 
tations that it may express consciousness, as otherwise 
it would be unconscious save only in its consciousness of 
its own existence; (5) manifesting constant change in 
its ideative and creative activities that consciousness 
may be maintained; (6) manifesting subconscious ac¬ 
tivities and energies, in various degrees, as well as 
those of actual consciousness; and (7) manifesting the 
activities of consciousness in order that it may express 
its “lifeness,” for consciousness is the “lifeness” of 
Life. 

Here we rest this phase -of the consideration of 
SPIRIT in the terms of Universal Mind. SPIRIT 
may be considered as Universal Mind in its twin activ¬ 
ities of Infinite Ideation and Will. Its Substance we 
may consider as Infinite Mind-Substance; its Power, 
as Infinite Mind-Power; its Life, as Infinite Mind- 
Life; its Law, as Infinite Mental-Law. But even so we 
run the risk of dwarfing our conception of SPIRIT by 
comparison. Raise even to Infinite Perception and 
Power our conception of MIND and we have but 


110 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


hinted at the possibilities and capabilities thereof. 
Reasoning with but finite minds, at the best we can 
expect to be but able, as Emerson says, “even by pro¬ 
fane words, if sacred I may not use, to indicate the 
heaven of this deity, and to report what hints I have 
collected of the transcendent simplicity and energy of 
the Highest Law.” 


Part III.—MANIFESTATION. ✓ 


CHAPTER XIV. 

The Eternal Manifestation. 

TATEMENT: SPIRIT eternally manifests Crea¬ 



tion in Its own Substance; yet It eternally re¬ 


mains Itself Infinite, Eternal, Immutable, and 


Indivisible. 

The teaching of the wisest of the race, in all times 
and in all lands, is that SPIRIT eternally expresses 
itself in the Creation of an infinite series of universes, 
infinite time and infinite space being employed to pro¬ 
duce infinite variety. It is held that in all the infinity 
of time and space there have never been two universes 
precisely the same. Infinite variety has accompanied 
infinite number. 

The Days and Nights of Brahm. 

In many of the Oriental teachings will be found 
reference to the Days and Nights of Brahm—periods 
of Work and Rest, Inbreathing and Outbreathing, Ac¬ 
tivity and Passivity of SPIRIT. This figure of speech 



112 


THE MASTERY OF BEING . 


is accepted as final by many students. But it is really 
but a figurative expression of the activities concerning 
one series of universes. It is but a partial statement, 
and purposely overlooks the fact of the infinite number 
of universes in existence at any certain time in every 
stage of evolution or devolution, in every stage of the 
cosmic processes of birth, growth, decay, and death. 

Cosmic Days and Nights. 

The conception of the alternating periods of Work 
and Rest, Activity and Passivity, Cosmic Day and 
Cosmic Night, is not wholly untrue. It is a half truth; 
true so far as it goes, but merely a fragment of the 
Whole Truth. The illumined have perceived that the 
rhetorical figure of the Days and Nights of Brahm is 
capable of fuller and wider interpretation. They have 
recognized that while there is this manifestation of 
Day and Night in all Creation, it is nevertheless but a 
conception of finite fact and truth. The figure, even 
in our own world, is seen to be capable of fuller ex¬ 
planation. For instance, while our earth life has its 
days and nights, it is never day everywhere nor night 
everywhere at the same time and place. While it is 
day here it is night there. While sunlight floods the 
Eastern Hemisphere, the Western Hemisphere is bathed 
in the darkness of night. When it is High Noon in 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


113 

one place it is Midnight in another. The Law of the 
Opposites—the principle of Contradiction—is met here 
as elsewhere. 

Cosmic High Noon and Midnight. 

Accordingly, when one of a series of worlds begins 
to wane many worlds of other series are coming into 
being. High Noon in one is matched by Midnight in 
another. So in the Cosmos there exists an infinite 
number of worlds, and series of worlds, rising from the 
Void, or receding into it. And yet each of these uni¬ 
verses (so called because of our partial view) is but a 
part of the GRAND UNIVERSE, the UNIVERSE 
OF UNIVERSES—the COSMOS OF INFINITY. 
More than this, each universe is but an atom of a 
greater universe, and this of another, and so on and 
on and on to Infinity. And each atom and each parti¬ 
cle of which an atom is composed is, in its way, a 
universe. Infinity extends in both directions, the infi¬ 
nitely large being matched by the infinitesimally small; 
but, at the last, All is ONE. 

This truth has been expressed variously by the illu¬ 
mined of the race in veiled terms capable of being 
understood only by those who have learned to recognize 
Truth when they meet it, but which are meaningless 
to those who have not yet reached that point of evolu- 


114 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


tion and who are content to read into the messages the 
half truths of which alone they are capable of com¬ 
prehension. The following, from the pen of one of the 
wise ones of the world, illustrates the principle: “The 
Universe is eternal in toto, as a boundless plane, peri¬ 
odically the playground of numberless universes inces¬ 
santly manifesting and disappearing/’ Gautama, the 
Buddha, gently reproved and cautioned his followers 
against the error of the Days and Nights of Brahm in 
these words:— 

“The Books teach Darkness was, at first of all, 

And Brahm, sole meditating in that Night: 

Look not for Brahm and the Beginning there!” 

The Law oe Change. 

The Law of Change is ever dominant and operative 
in the Eternal Creations of SPIRIT. Worlds and 
Universes have their birth, their growth, their decline, 
their death; the same law is operative everywhere and 
in everything. All is under the Law. But there is 
no original creation from Nothing, and no total De¬ 
struction of the essence, nature, substance, and prin¬ 
ciple of Things. Everything is “becoming” from 
something else and in turn is “becoming” into some¬ 
thing else. A beginningless and endless chain of 
sequence is manifest. Nothing is originally created; 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


115 


nothing is lost. Everything is transformed. The Law 
of Conservation, by which every particle is saved only 
to be transformed again, is ever in operation. Nature 
is economical. Although she has all the substance 
there is, and all the energy there is, she wastes not a 
single portion of either. She gathers up her scraps 
and worn-out materials and transforms them into 
something else fresh and new. 

The Law of Continuity. 

There are no sudden changes in the Eternal Creation. 
The Law of Continuity is ever in operation and acts 
in the direction of blending and shading one thing into 
another—the cause into the effect, the preceding into 
the succeeding thing, the variations into each other. 
There is no break in the orderly sequence and proces¬ 
sion of things. It is impossible to determine where one 
thing ends and the next begins. Nature’s processes are 
like the movement of the moving pictures, each change 
blending into that which follows it. There are no 
breaks or intermissions in the Eternal Creation. We 
can realize the continuity of Time. Time being but 
the measurement of Change, we see that the changing 
objects are as continuous as is Time. Like a mighty 
river the Eternal Creation flows on, without interrup¬ 
tion, break, cessation, or separation. 


116 


THE MASTERY OF BEING . 


The Law of Rhythm and Cycles. 

The Law of Rhythm and Cycles also is ever constant. 
Everything rises and falls. Everything moves in cir¬ 
cles. Everything swings to and fro like a pendulum. 
This is as true of the atom as of the Universe, as true 
of the great Cosmic energies as of the human emotions 
and feelings. Nothing remains still and unchanged, 
but is ever swinging between the two poles of its being, 
rising and falling with the energy of its being, moving 
in a circle around the circle of its being. The slight¬ 
est examination or the most profound study of the Uni¬ 
verse impresses this fact upon us. There is nothing 
to which this law does not apply. When it is under¬ 
stood it may be pressed into service and turned to 
advantage; when not understood it rules us like the 
arbitrary decrees of a tyrant. 


Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. 

The Hindu mythology pictures deity as a Trinity: 
Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Preserver, Shiva the 
Destroyer. This idea represents the operation of the 
Cosmic energies of the Eternal Creation. Every mo¬ 
ment something is being created, then held in balance 
and preservation, and then destroyed. The moment 
of activity may be but an infinitesimal portion of a 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 117 

second of time, or it may extend over an aeon of time, 
but the principle is the same and the end is the same. 
There is ever the outward creative movement, then the 
suspension of balance and preservation, then the inward 
destructive movement of return. It is as if the One 
threw off from itself its Creation; then, the outward 
force being expended, followed a period of balance and 
suspense, this, in turn, succeeded by the inward move¬ 
ment back toward the One. This is the symbol of 
Creation as embodied figuratively in the various my¬ 
thologies and as stated as cold fact by science. 


The Reign of Law. 

The Cosmos is governed by Law. Law manifests as 
many laws, but the latter are merely aspects of the 
one Law. There is nothing in the Cosmos not under 
Law. Xothing is over and above Law. Physical, men¬ 
tal, and spiritual activities, forms, shapes, and condi¬ 
tions are all governed by Law. Law is invariable. 
Those who claim otherwise err. Those who would take 
anything outside the realm of Law and Order endeavor 
but to remove that thing from the Cosmos. The very 
word “Cosmos,” in its original Greek, means “Law 
and Order.” It is applied to the Universe in the sense 
of attributing Law, Order, and Harmony to it. 


118 


THE MASTERY OF BEING . 


The Inner and Outer. 

In the Universe we perceive all changes resulting 
from a twofold cause. There is ever present the inner 
impelling force or energy which urges the thing for¬ 
ward, and there is ever present the outer forces or 
energies of environment which serve to modify, influ¬ 
ence, and determine the progress and direction of the 
inner energy or force. All change is the result of the 
action and reaction of these two principles of energy. 
This is true of the atom and the sun; of the tiniest 
living thing and of man; of the physical, mental, and 
spiritual. There is always this action and reaction. 
Not only is the inner force modified and influenced 
and in a way determined by the outer forces, but the 
latter, in turn, are influenced, modified, and in a way 
determined by the inner. Like two great giants wres¬ 
tling for supremacy, the Inner and the Outer ever act 
and react upon each other and the evolutionary result 
is the outcome of the struggle. But the result is not 
the final termination, for the struggle is renewed at the 
moment of the decision and goes on forever throughout 
all Eternity. 


The Unity of Creation. 

In all of this we may perceive the Unity of Crea¬ 
tion—the fact that all is an expression of the same 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


119 


fundamental reality. The same laws apply to the high 
as well as to the low, to the great as well as to the 
small, to the complex as well as to the simple. There 
is no great, no small, no high, no low, no complex, no 
simple in the eyes of Infinity. In Creation all is finite 
and comparative; nothing is absolute. There is noth¬ 
ing fixed or unchangeable; everything changes. There 
is nothing final or ultimate; everything has its degrees, 
with something higher and something lower. There is 
nothing at rest, at peace, still; everything is in constant 
motion, unrest, and change. / For the things of Mani¬ 
festation are finite; only in the bosom of the Infinite 
is there found that which is absolute, immutable, ulti¬ 
mate, peaceful, and at rest. 

Surface and Depths. 

Finally, we are ever brought to the realization that 
all this infinite variety and extent of Creation is but 
a surface expression of SPIRIT, and that deep down 
beneath this surface disturbance and activity there 
abides the eternal calm, peace, unchangeableness, and 
rest of the Infinite. SPIRIT does not change in 
order to Create; it does not divide itself in order to 
express Variety; it remains ever itself, unchanged, un¬ 
altered, undisturbed, while the magnificent Cosmic 
Dramatization goes on in Eternity. We are ever rest- 


120 


THE MASTERY OF BEING . 


ing upon the Bosom of the Deep. There we are ever 
secure. We can never be thrown from its surface, and 
if we sink into its depths we are as secure as ever, for 
then we are at one with it, relatively as well as abso¬ 
lutely. 

On the surface of Creation we are expressions and 
centers of activity of SPIRIT. SPIRIT is in us and 
we are in SPIRIT, and in that knowledge there is 
the sense of absolute security. Outside of SPIRIT we 
can never be, for there is no outside. We can never 
be lost, never destroyed in essence, nature, substance, 
and principle. Though change alters our forms, states, 
or conditions, we are still in SPIRIT. The knowledge 
of our essence, nature, substance, and principle destroys 
fear, kills our apprehension, removes doubt, and sends 
us forward to the Divine Adventure with a smile on our 
lips and joy in our heart. And as to the end, if end 
there be to the personal being, we know that whatever 
is real in us is above personality and cannot perish. 
Those to whom illumination has come invariably echo 
the words of Gautama, the Buddha, who said of such 
an ending of personality:— 

"If any teach NIRVANA is to cease, 

Say unto such they lie; 

If any teach NIRVANA is to live, 

Say unto such they err, not knowing this. 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


121 


Nor what light shines beyond their broken lamps, 
Nor lifeless, timeless bliss.” 

* * * * * * * 

“The Dew is on the Lotus. Rise, Great Sun, 

And lift my leaf and mix me with the wave. 

Om mani padme hum! The Sunrise comes! 

The Dewdrop slips into the Shining Sea!” 


CHAPTER XV. 



The Phenomenal Universe. 

HE wise have ever asserted the phenomenal uni¬ 



verse to be but an appearance in SPIRIT; 


and yet SPIRIT is seen to be Indivisible and 
Changeless. The phenomenal universe is perceived to 
have been created in the essence, nature, substance, and 
very being of SPIRIT; but SPIRIT itself is and re¬ 
mains ever Inseparable and Immutable. 

This is a very important point of teaching and should 
be considered carefully in order that its full meaning 
may be grasped and assimilated. The term “created” 
means “brought into being; caused; produced.” It is 
sometimes defined as “to form out of nothing,” but 
such definition is meaningless, for the laws of thought 
show that the mind is incapable of thinking of some¬ 
thing having proceeded from Nothing. In speaking 
of the phenomenal universe as “created” in the essence, 
nature, substance, and principle of SPIRIT, the prepo¬ 
sition “in” signifies “situation or place with respect to 
surrounding, environment, encompassment.” It is gen¬ 
erally associated with position or place in space because 
of its ordinary employment in connection with material 




THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


123 


objects. But it is also used in connection with mental 
states and ideas, as, for instance, “in the mind,” “in 
thought,” “in imagination,” thus showing that it is not 
necessarily related to space, for mind does not occupy 
space. Care must be taken not to identify the word 
“in” (as used above) with “of,” “from,” “out of,” in 
the sense of separation, removal, or division, for we 
have seen that Ultimate Reality is Indivisible and In¬ 
separable ; its Unity and Oneness cannot be impaired or 
destroyed. We are asked to consider a creation “in” 
SPIRIT and yet not “of” or “from” it. The creation 
must be accomplished without separation, division, or 
partition, and also without actual change in the essence, 
nature, substance, and being of that in which it is 
created. The necessities of the case require clear and 
subtle thought. 

Let us first consider the various forms of “creation” 
familiar to us in the phenomenal world, that we may 
understand the nature of the creation of the phenom¬ 
enal universe in SPIRIT and yet not of or from it. 

Creation from Materials. 

The most familiar form of creation is that in which 
something is created from materials. Man creates 
boats, shoes, knives, houses, textiles in this way. But 
a moment’s thought will show us that SPIRIT cannot 


124 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


create the phenomenal universe in this manner. In 
the first place there are no materials outside of itself 
from which it could so create; there is no “outside” 
and there is nothing other than itself. In the second 
place it could not create from the material or substance 
of itself, for that would necessitate a separation, divi¬ 
sion, and partition of itself for the purpose of the 
creation, and the creation when completed would then 
be apart from its creator, divided and subtracted from 
it. Division and partition of, or subtraction from, 
SPIRIT is unthinkable, as we have seen in our inquiry. 
In the third place the creation cannot be made from 
Nothing, for something can never come from Nothing. 

Procreation. 

Another familiar form of creation is that known as 
begetting or procreation, which is familiar to us in the 
natural processes of animal birth. SPIRIT cannot 
create the phenomenal universe in this way, for beget¬ 
ting or procreation is but a form of division or sub¬ 
traction. The procreated thing is always divided or 
subtracted from the parent thing. This is true in all 
birth, from that of the single cell to the higher forms 
of life, and even in the inorganic world in cases w r here 
the new forms are created from the material or sub¬ 
stance of the old. Moreover, even were this possible, 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


125 


the procreated thing would be the “young” of its 
parent; the “young” of SPIRIT is unthinkable. Each 
young Absolute would be a replica of the parent Ab¬ 
solute—an absurd idea. Were there “young SPIRITS” 
there would no longer be SPIRIT, the Ultimate Real¬ 
ity, but, instead, many SPIRITS, many Ultimate 
Realities, none of which would be ultimate, none abso¬ 
lute, none infinite, none total, none independent. The 
conception of anything being procreated from Ultimate 
Reality belongs to the child mind of the race, and flatly 
contradicts the report of the reason. The test of the 
Axioms of Being, which arise from the report of the 
highest reason, effectively disposes of this fallacious 
conception. 


Creation by Change of Form. 

A third form of creation is that in which the crea¬ 
tion arises by reason of a change in the form, shape, 
activity, or appearance of the substance of the creator. 
A familiar instance of this form of creation is that in 
which a whirlpool appears in the running stream or a 
wave upon the surface of the river; or, in a more per¬ 
manent condition, the appearance of lumps of ice in a 
body of water, crystals in the mother fluid, or lumps 
of butter in the cream; or, again, that in which mot ion 
is transformed into heat or light. The transformation 


126 


TEE MASTERY OF BEING. 


of energy into various forms, as we have seen, affords 
us excellent and convincing examples of this form of 
creation. Certain scientists have assumed that matter 
may have arisen from “knots” or “rings” formed in the 
Universal Ether. In this way Materialism has sought 
to account for the variety apparent in the phenomenal 
universe. 

A little analytical consideration, however, reveals the 
fact that the above-cited instances and their kind are 
in reality not creations in the true sense of the word, 
but rather are transformations. The whirlpool or wave 
in the stream is but the temporary change of form 
resulting from the effect of motion. The wave results 
from imparted motion; the whirlpool from arrested 
motion; in each case the effect being produced in mat¬ 
ter. Again, the lumps of ice and the crystals are merely 
changes of molecular arrangement, molecules being 
incidents and “parts” of Matter, the creation being 
merely a change in the particles of the particular Tcind 
of Matter. The lumps of butter arise from the separa¬ 
tion of one constituent or part of the cream from the 
other. 

Heat, light, and other forms of energy arise from 
matter whose vibrations have been raised by motion. 
Strictly speaking, there is no such thing as heat or 
light in themselves; there is only heated matter or 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


127 


lighted matter. The waves of heat and light traveling 
in the ether from the sun are neither heat nor light, 
but are merely waves in the ether. The space through 
which they travel is neither heated nor lighted. Space 
is absolutely cold and absolutely dark. It is only when 
the waves come in contact with air or other matter 
that “light” and “heat” result. Light and heat, there¬ 
fore, as we know them, are merely rates of vibration 
of matter , and can scarcely be considered as created 
things; they are, rather, conditions of things. 

Likewise, the transformation of energy and force is 
simply the effect of motion upon matter. None of the 
so-called manifestations of energy and force are really 
such; they are merely material objects energized by 
force. They have simply experienced change of condi¬ 
tion. In all the so-called changes of energy there is 
found but a changed condition of matter. The energy 
has not changed at all. Take away the matter and we 
would perceive no changes or transformations of energy. 
The theory of matter being created by “knots” or 
“rings” in the Universal Ether does not meet the re¬ 
quirements of science. The Universal Ether is not 
something that can be twisted or knotted, even if there 
were anything in existence to so twist or knot it. 

Our examination shows that this class of “creations” 
are not creations at all. Moreover, SPIRIT cannot 


128 


THE MASTERY OF BEING . 


create in this way, i. e., by changes in its particles, 
for it has no particles; nor by separation of its con¬ 
stituent parts, for it has no constituent parts; nor by 
change of its form, for it has no form; nor by arrange¬ 
ment of its molecules, for it has no molecules; nor by 
playing its energy upon matter, for there is no matter 
originally for it to play upon; nor by raising its rate 
of vibrations, for it has nothing to vibrate, no particles 
to be subject to motion, no material to be vibrated; 
neither has it anything to be knotted or ringed, it not 
being material. And, above all, we have seen that it is 
Unchangeable, Invariable, Constant, and Immutable. 
It cannot be thought of as subject to any of the above 
changes in itself, which are but characteristics of mat¬ 
ter, from which immaterial reality must be free. 
SPIRIT, which is Ultimate Reality, cannot be thought 
of or considered in terms of matter. Of every quality 
of matter SPIRIT must be freed in thought. Naming 
each quality, property, attribute, and characteristic of 
matter, we must ever say “neti, neti "—“not this, not 
that”—in our consideration of SPIRIT. 

“The Changing Absolute.” 

But this fallacy of “the changing Absolute” is not 
confined to the school of Materialism. Some forms of 
Pantheism, and what may be called “conditional Mon- 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


129 


ism,” hold that The One Ultimate Reality—the Ab¬ 
solute—“manifests as” and “assumes” many shapes 
and forms in phenomenal appearance by “becoming” the 
relative things of phenomenal life. They hold that 
The One becomes the Many in this way. An analysis, 
however, shows that this “becoming” would really 
mean either (1) a division, partition, or separation of 
the One Absolute into parts, personalities, and sepa¬ 
rated activities; or else (2) a series of distinct changes 
in the Absolute. Either or both of these suppositions 
are unthinkable regarding the Absolute. The Axioms 
of REALITY serve to utterly confute these fallacies. 
Ultimate Reality—the Absolute—can never be divided, 
separated, or partitioned into parts or personalities. 
Neither can it change in shape, form, activity, or in any 
other wav in any degree whatsoever and still remain the 
Absolute. Absolute BEING- must always remain Abso¬ 
lute. “Becoming” is an incident of phenomenal appear¬ 
ance and has not existence in fact or truth in Absolute 
BEING. 

“Emanation” and “Reflection.” 

Another apparently plausible theory is advanced re¬ 
garding creation, in which the phenomenal universe, 
with its varied forms, shapes, and personalities, is 
explained as being an “emanation” or a “reflection” of 
the One Ultimate Reality, being “of” it and yet not 


130 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


in it nor yet itself. This idea of “emanation” is lik¬ 
ened to the fragrance of a rose, which, while not the 
rose itself, nor in it, is nevertheless “of” the rose. 
This figure is as faulty as the concept which it seeks 
to illustrate. The fragrance of the rose is not a subtle, 
immaterial something flowing from it without partak¬ 
ing of its substance. It is really composed of minute 
particles of the substance of the rose from which it is 
cast off. An “emanation” from SPIRIT would have 
to be composed of particles of the substance of SPIRIT. 
But SPIRIT can have no particles to east off, neither 
can it be divided or separated in any way whatsoever. 
This idea of emanation is but a cleverly disguised and 
subtle form of the idea of creation by division and 
separation. 

The idea of “reflection” is likened to the One Sun 
reflecting its image in millions of falling raindrops or 
in millions of jars of water. The idea sought to be 
illustrated in this figure is that, although there be but 
the One Sun, the reflections result in the appearance 
of the Many. This figure, like the theory, also is 
faulty. One naturally asks for information regarding 
the nature and cause of the raindrops and the jars. 
SPIRIT has no raindrops of its own substance nor 
jars of its own being to catch the “reflection” of itself. 
Neither is there room or material outside of SPIRIT 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


131 


for the creation of them. There can be no “reflec¬ 
tions” of SPIRIT unless there is something to catch 
the rays. If we assert that SPIRIT creates the cosmic- 
reflecting material, then we are back again to the ques¬ 
tion of the how of creation. Instead of answering the 
question we have simply removed it one more step. 
This conception, also, is but another cleverly-disguised 
version of the theory of separation and division and 
must be discarded. 


CHAPTER XVI. 


The Nature of Creation. 

S TATEMENT: SPIRIT creates the Universe, and 

the parts thereof, by its own Ideation and Voli¬ 
tion, with its own Life and under its own Law. 

Mental Creation. 

In addition to the forms of creation mentioned in 
the preceding lesson, there is a third form or method 
of creation known to man in the phenomenal world 
which serves as a finite illustration of a universal fact. 
Man creates mentally. In his mind he creates mental 
images, ideas, mental forms, conceptions, combinations, 
associations, pictures, figures, shapes, and forms, many 
of which are afterward reproduced in material form by 
the work of his hands. The forms in his mind are as 
real as are their reproductions in the most solid matter. 
And, wonderful fact, these mental creations are in his 
mind and yet not of it in the sense of division, separa¬ 
tion, or partition. Neither do they necessitate change 
in the essence, nature, substance, or very being of his 
mind. These ideas and mental images are merely “ap¬ 
pearances” in the mind, requiring no change, division, 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


133 


or partition of the substance of the mind, and allowing 
it ever to retain its original unity of being. This is 
true even of the finite mind of man. Substitute for 
this the Absolute and Infinite Mind of SPIRIT and 
we may begin to get a glimpse of the nature and process 
of the creation of the phenomenal universe. 

Everything Built Around an Idea. 

To those who would object that mental creation 
would lack reality we would say that the body of every 
living creature has been built by mind around a mind 
picture. In the mind of the original cell there is a 
mental picture which is built around with material 
form. All creation is around a mental form. The 
mental form exists first, and then the material form is 
created around it. Every bridge, every house, every 
work of the hand of man has been preceded by the 
form in his mind. Nature always builds living forms 
around the mental form—even the crystals are built 
around an invariable form existing in the immaterial 
mental part of the mother liquor. Moreover, science 
shows us that mental states powerfully influence phys¬ 
ical forms. Our faces, our walk, our carriage are the 
reflex of our mental states. Health and disease reflect 
mental states. Even in the phenomenal universe the 
physical form is seen to be but the veil for the mental 


134 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


image. With this power and reality raised to infinity, 
who may dare to say that a mental image or idea is 
“unreal”? 

Idealism. 

Many of the wisest of the race have held that the 
phenomenal universe is but an idea or ideas—a mental 
image or images—in the mental substance of Supreme 
Being, God, Spirit, or by whatever name Ultimate 
Reality is called. Absolute Idealism is the highest 
form of philosophical teaching. It holds that the phe¬ 
nomenal universe has no existence other than in the 
Universal Mind. But this existence, although pure 
appearance, is not regarded as fictitious, but on the 
contrary is held to be second in reality only to Ultimate 
Reality itself. Thought is second only to the mind 
creating it. If a mental image is regarded as unreal, 
then the mind creating it must be only a degree less 
unreal. When it is remembered that all the substance 
there is is spiritual substance,—the substance of 
SPIRIT,—then it may be seen that creations in that 
substance are as relatively real as anything could be. 

Everything of Immaterial Origin. 

The person who may object to this statement, and 
who may hold for the “substantial reality of material 
things,” should remember that the origin of his so- 


THE MASTERY OF BEING . 


135 


called world of matter is as immaterial as is mind. 
Science holds that Ultimate Substance is to be found 
only in the Universal Ether. This Universal Ether, 
we have seen, is a Something which is practically a 
No-thing. It is an absolutely immaterial substance. 
It possesses no more solid materiality than does mind. 
Even under the most materialistic theory it is held that 
the Universe is a phenomenal manifestation of a most 
immaterial reality. Those who find it easier to think 
of the Universe as a phenomenal manifestation in the 
Universal Ether, than as a phenomenal appearance in 
Universal Mind, should not forget that there is really 
very little difference between a Universal Ether in 
which Life and Mind are held to abide, and our con¬ 
ception of SPIRIT, which is Pure Substance, Pure 
Energy, Pure Life, Pure Mind—which is the essence, 
nature, substance, and principle of All-that-IS. At 
the last, the conception of the Universal Ether is seen 
to be but little more than an emphasis of the substance 
and energy of Ultimate Reality; while the conception 
of SPIRIT is an emphasis of the life and mind of 
Ultimate Reality. There is surely room here for a 
sane reconciliation between Materialism and Idealism. 


The Universe as an Idea. 

The Phenomenal Universe, as a whole, and in its 


136 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


every part, is perceived to exist only as an ideal appear¬ 
ance in SPIRIT considered as Universal Mind. 

The term "ideal,” as here used, means "of the nature 
of the image of an object apprehended, thought of, or 
conceived in the mind.” The term "appearance,” as 
here used, means "that which is perceived by and is 
visible to the apprehension of the mind.” The com¬ 
bined term "ideal appearance,” then, is seen to mean 
"that which is conceived in, and perceived by, the 
mind.” It is not only perceived as visible to Universal 
Mind, hut has also been actually created and conceived 
in and by Universal Mind. 

The above statement embodies and expresses the 
fundamental principle of the great philosophical school 
of Idealism, which contends that matter cannot be 
conceived to actually exist, as the only real substance 
is Universal Mind, and that the material and phenom¬ 
enal universe is nothing but a series of mental appear¬ 
ances and impressions which appear and disappear in 
accordance with mental laws which are called "The 
Laws of Nature”; that the only reality of the phe¬ 
nomenal world consists in its being consciously "per¬ 
ceived” by God, Spirit, the Absolute, or whatever 
Ultimate Reality may be termed. 


THE MASTERY OF BEING . 


137 


Monistic Idealism. 

Monistic Idealism, or Idealistic Monism, is the flower 
of philosophic thought and is found wherever philos¬ 
ophy has dared to carry its speculations to their ulti¬ 
mate conclusion. It forms the highest peak of Western 
Philosophy, and in the Philosophy of the East it occu¬ 
pies an equally high position. In the Western world 
some of the greatest philosophers have advanced its 
principles, and it is claimed that they never have been 
successfully controverted. In the Eastern world, rep¬ 
resented by Hindu thought, the Vedanta (in its school 
of unqualified Monism) has always successfully chal¬ 
lenged attack. Of the latter school it has been said 
that "it is the highest pinnacle of philosophic thought 
which the human mind can possibly attain.” Schlegel 
says of it: “Even the loftiest philosophy of the Euro¬ 
peans, the idealism of reason, as it is set forth by the 
Greek philosophers, appears in comparison with the 
abundant light and vigor of Oriental Idealism like a 
Promethean spark in the full flood of heavenly glory 
of the noonday sun, faltering and feeble and ever ready 
to be extinguished.” Max Muller says of it: “No 
philosopher, not excepting Heraclitus, Plato, Kant, or 
Hegel, has ventured to erect such a spire, never fright¬ 
ened by storms or lightnings. Stone follows upon 
stone, in regular succession, after once the first step 


138 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


has been made, after once it has been clearly seen that 
in the beginning there can have been but One, as there 
will be but One in the end.” 

The Harmony of Idealism. 

Testing the principle of Idealism by the preceding 
Axioms derived from the report of the reason, we find 
that it harmonizes with each and contradicts none. 
The Idealistic conception of creation is compatible with 
the following facts of SPIRIT (which is Ultimate 
Reality) as stated in the Basic Postulate and Axioms: 
(1) The fact that SPIRIT is the essence, nature, 
substance, and principle of All-that-IS; (2) the fact 
that SPIRIT is One, in the sense of Absolute Unity; 
(3) the fact that SPIRIT is Absolute, Infinite, Ulti¬ 
mate, Original, Causeless, Unchangeable, Indivisible, 
Total, Formless, Independent; (4) the fact that 
SPIRIT is Infinite Substance, Infinite Energy, Infi¬ 
nite Mind, Infinite Life, Infinite Law. 

It will be noticed especially that under the principle 
of Idealism creation by SPIRIT is possible without 
affecting the unity, oneness, totality, independence, ab¬ 
soluteness, infinity, and particularly without violating 
the indivisibility and unchangeableness of SPIRIT. 
No other theory or explanation of creation of the Many 
by the One escapes the violation of these essential facts 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


139 


of Ultimate Reality. It is seen to be the only possible 
logical explanation of creation. 

In every other explanation of creation it is seen to be 
necessary for the One to undergo change, or to undergo 
separation, division, subtraction, or addition in order to 
manifest the Many. Either the One had to divide into 
parts, or to change itself into something else by “be¬ 
coming.” In such cases not only does the One have to 
divide and separate itself into parts, but it also con¬ 
tinually changes itself in these parts to the infinite 
variety of forms, shapes, and activities of the phenom¬ 
enal universe. It brings itself under the Law of 
Change. Under the Idealistic conception, on the con¬ 
trary, the One does not change, nor does it divide itself 
into parts. In its Mind-Principle the universe of 
appearances comes and goes. The infinite changes af¬ 
fect not the One. The infinite number of forms and 
shapes affects not the integrity of the One. 

Such is the report of reason regarding the nature of 
Creation and the creation of Nature. 


CHAPTER XVII. 

Practical Idealism. 

HE wise, while realizing the idealistic nature 



of the phenomenal Universe, and the fact that 


it has no existence except as ideal appearance 
in SPIRIT considered as Infinite Mind, nevertheless 
have held that, for the practical purposes of life and 
living in the world of appearances, the Universe and 
Nature must be considered as existent. Those who fail 
to realize that “a little learning is a dangerous thing” 
run the risk of falling into the sad error of believing 
that the idealistic nature of the universe renders it 
“unreal” for practical purposes, and that its laws may 
he denied and defied. The wise hold that the laws of 
each plane of existence govern those abiding on that 
plane—that those living in Nature are hound by Na¬ 
ture’s laws. The laws of the physical plane may be 
transcended only by those who have transcended that 
plane in life and being—and such are no longer men. 
This does not mean that Nature’s physical laws are the 
only laws, for there are finer forces and higher laws 
which are realized by Life as it ascends in the scale of 
being. Laws spring from LAW, and LAW is identical 
with Ultimate Reality, or SPIRIT. 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


141 


For the practical purposes of phenomenal life and 
living, the phenomenal Universe may be accepted as 
existent, and not as mere illusion or nothingness. Mas¬ 
tery of its activities and release from its bondage is 
possible only to those who recognize the fact of its 
idealistic nature, and its actual and real basis and 
support in SPIRIT. The outer form has its phenom¬ 
enal and practical existence; while SPIRIT is the 
actual, fundamental, and ultimate Reality. Wisdom 
arises from an understanding and reconciliation of this 
paradox. 

The conception of the ideal appearance of the Uni¬ 
verse does not in any way deny the relative qualities 
and finite relations of the phenomena of the world of 
appearances. Natural physical laws proceed in the 
same way, whether we conceive Matter, Energy, Mind, 
or SPIRIT to be Ultimate Reality. Electrons and 
planets revolve, gravitation persists, the laws of mathe¬ 
matics continue to be valid, whether we conceive the 
Universe to be composed of particles of matter grouped 
together in manifold forms and shapes manifesting 
manifold forms of activity, or else centers of activity 
in Universal Energy; or whether we conceive the Uni¬ 
verse, and its particular parts, to be shapes, forms, and 
activities—IDEAL APPEARANCES—in the Infinite 
Mind-Principle and the Ultimate Substance-Principle 


142 


THE MASTERY OF BEING . 


of SPIRIT. If all Substance is the Substance of 
SPIRIT, then all things must be in and of that Sub¬ 
stance, and therefore must be substantial and real to 
the highest possible degree. The Universal Ether can 
give no more substantiality and reality to the universe 
than does SPIRIT considered as Infinite Substance. 

Even the Yedantists, whose thinkers fear not to follow 
their thought to its logical and extreme conclusion, and 
who say, “Brahman is true; the world is false,” and 
who claim that the phenomenal universe arises by rea¬ 
son of the existence of “Maya, the inexplicable illusion, 
self-imagined, that is illusorily overspread upon Brah¬ 
man,”—even these daring thinkers do not assert that 
the world is FICTITIOUS so far as practical purposes 
are concerned. They say: “Dreams are true while 
they last.” As Max Miiller has truly said: “For all 
practical purposes the Yedantist would hold that the 
whole phenomenal world, both in its subjective and 
objective character, should be accepted as real. It is 
as real as anything can be to the ordinary mind; it is 
not mere emptiness, as the Buddhists maintain. And 
thus the Yedanta philosophy leaves to every man a 
wide sphere of real usefulness, and places him under a 
law as strict and binding as anything can be in this 
transitory life.” 

The ideal appearances in Infinite Mind—SPIRIT— 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


143 


are second in reality only to SPIRIT itself. There 
can be nothing more real than the Universe, except 
SPIRIT Itself. The Laws of Time, Space, Causation, 
and Nature are included in SPIRIT’S Cosmic idea of 
the Universe; they are thus made perfectly valid and 
effective to all phenomenal things. There is every dif¬ 
ference between the relative ideas and mental images 
in the finite minds of men, and the Cosmic ideas and 
images in the Infinite Mind of SPIRIT. The world 
must not be regarded as a mere dream, unless one also 
regard his personal self as a figure in that dream. 
(We say his personal self to distinguish it from his 
real self.) It is true that we may assert the mere 
“appearance” of the natural world and refuse to eat, 
drink, and clothe ourselves, but in so doing we will 
injure our physical body, which is also an “appear¬ 
ance,” and may even destroy our personal being, which 
is also an “appearance,” at the last. So long as we 
live and move and have our personal and finite being in 
the physical world we must recognize and obey the 
physical laws of that world. Things dwelling on any 
particular plane of existence either must come under 
the laws of that plane or else transcend that plane in 
their being. 

We have no desire to imply that the phenomenal 
world is pure illusion. On the contrary we wish you 


144 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


to remember that it is second in possible reality only 
to SPIRIT itself. It may help you to think of the 
phenomenal world as REAL and of SPIRIT as 
SUPER-REAL. Do not make the mistake of consid¬ 
ering the world as an illusory Nothing. It and all in 
it are Real Things in the world of Things; it is only 
when we rise above Thingness that we find the Reality 
of Super-Thingness. Remember that the world con¬ 
sidered as an idea of SPIRIT is just as real and as 
practical as when considered as the expression and man¬ 
ifestation of the Energy of the Universal Ether of 
Science. Carry always in mind the idea well expressed 
by an authority, who said, “Phenomena do not change 
with our varying views as to what things really are!* 
The phenomenal world is under Law and laws; heed 
ye them! 

Finally, it must be remembered that while the Uni¬ 
verse and its particular parts are but ideal appearances 
in SPIRIT, it is likewise true that SPIRIT is imma¬ 
nent and abiding in the Universe and in each and every 
of its manifestations down to the most insignificant. 
Just as All is in SPIRIT, so is SPIRIT in All. 
SPIRIT is ever the Universal Creative SPIRIT of 
Nature, every shape, form, and activity in Nature. 
The presence and energy of SPIRIT is ever perceived 
manifesting in shape, form, and activity. The veil of 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


145 


Matter serves not only to conceal SPIRIT but also to 
reveal it. Just as the fluttering flag and the moving 
field of grain serve to reveal the presence and power 
of the breeze which is animating them, and which in 
itself cannot be seen, so do the moving shapes and 
forms and activities of the universe serve to indicate 
the presence and power of SPIRIT ever behind them. 
This fact, remembered, should serve to forever remove 
all ideas of the practieal unreality and illusion of the 
universe. While the shape, form, and physical activity 
is and must be but mere appearance, the animating 
power acting and moving in that shape and form and 
activity is Ultimate Reality itself—SPIRIT. The gar¬ 
ment is seen to be but appearance, but the Reality 
wearing it is the only real thing there is. 

YOU, the individual “I” which is now receiving this 
instruction, are far greater, grander, and infinitely more 
REAL than you have been led to believe under the 
fallacious conceptions regarding the nature of the Uni¬ 
verse. Whatever the Universe may or may not be, 
YOU may bring yourself to a recognition, realization, 
and manifestation of your REAL SELF which will 
transcend any idea born of the finiteness of your being. 
When the soul receives its Illumination, universes may 
come and go and matter not, for the soul perceives in its 
“I AM” the one supreme fact of Reality. 


CHAPTER XVIII. 


The Creation of Nature. 


S TATEMENT: SPIRIT creates the Cosmos by 

Evolution, preserves it by Balance, re-creates it 
by Devolution, and yet these three, in Truth, are 
but One—three forms of the Creation of Nature. 


The Cosmos. 

By “the Cosmos” is meant “the Universe, or uni¬ 
versality of created things; so called from the order, 
arrangement, and harmony displayed in it, as opposed 
to Chaos” Many philosophers have preferred the 
Greek term “Cosmos” to the Latin one, “Universum” 
in expressing the idea of the Created World. The 
Latin term, from which our term “Universe” arose, 
meant simply “Oneness of Creation”; while the Greek 
term “Cosmos” implies the existence of absolute law, 
order, harmony, system, and logical arrangement in 
addition to the idea of the Oneness of Nature. The 
term in question is derived from a Greek word meaning 
“Order.” The term “the Cosmos,” as applied to the 
orderly Universe, was first used by Pythagoras. His 
followers, Philolaos, Callicratidas, and others, adopted 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


147 


the term, as did the philosophic poets, Xenophanes, 
Barmeides, and Empedocles. It was finally adopted as 
a philosophic term in general use. The Stoics also 
employed it as expressing the anima mundi, or World 
Spirit. In essence, the term “the Cosmos’’ is directly 
opposed to the term “Chaos,” which means “yawning, 
empty space, or the disorderly universe or mass of uni¬ 
versal matter in confusion; the world ‘without form and 
void.’ ” 

Nature. 

The term “Nature” is used to express “the Universe 
as distinguished from the Creator; Creation; the world 
of created things; the powers which carry on creation; 
the powers concerned to produce existing phenomena, 
whether in sum or in d&tail.” The term “Nature” ex¬ 
presses more fully the activities of the Universe or 
Cosmos. It is the Universe or Cosmos expressing itself 
in activities of Life. “Nature,” then, may be consid¬ 
ered as the expressed and expressing Life of the Uni¬ 
verse or Cosmos. 


The Beginning. 

The philosophers who have recognized and realized 
the spiritual nature of the Universe, and the imma¬ 
nence of Life and Mind in Nature, have speculated 
deeply regarding the manner or process whereby 


148 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


SPIRIT creates the Cosmos and endows Nature with 
her evolutionary tendency. In order to understand the 
<r how” of the Cosmic processes, the student must im¬ 
agine a “beginning/’ although the highest teaching is 
positive that there is no beginning. The student must 
assume a beginning in order to picture the creative 
processes. 

The “Mother Nature.” 

By placing ourselves in the position of an observer 
of a system of Universes, just before the dawn for them, 
we would see in the Universal Mind of SPIRIT the 
vague manifestations of subconscious activity forcing 
their way up toward the field of consciousness. To¬ 
ward dawn there would be manifested an almost infi¬ 
nitely subtle and tenuous materializing or “congealing” 
of the Universal Substance, caused by the formation of 
a nebulous idea of a nascent Universe. (By “nascent” 
is meant “coming into being; being developed.”) As 
the idea develops in Universal Mind it takes on a 
greater and still greater degree of materiality, just as 
does an idea of the human mind when one is “thinking 
out” an invention, a poem, a picture, or any other 
product of constructive imagination. After a time 
there appears a peculiar tenuous quasi-material sub¬ 
stance, which is the “Mother Nature” of matter and 
physical energy and in which abides also the possibili- 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


149 


ties of life and mind. This “Mother Nature” is akin 
to the Universal Ether of Science. The Hindus dis¬ 
tinguish between the three aspects of this “Mother 
Substance,” calling the Matter-Principle Akasha, the 
Energy-Principle Prana, the Mental-Principle Manas. 
Western Science combines the three in its conception 
of the Universal Ether. 

Creation of the Atoms. 

The “Mother Nature” then begins to manifest inac¬ 
tivities, urged on by the development of the idea in the 
Infinite Mind of SPIRIT. Changes, modifications, and 
combinations of the evolving energy produce infinitesi¬ 
mally tiny particles of Something which is neither 
energy nor matter and yet which has characteristics of 
both. These particles are in constant vibration, as, in 
fact, are all created forms of energy or matter. In each 
is the possibility of life and mind, pressing forward for 
expression. These particles circle around each other 
and form a miniature universe of whirling mites, which 
have a unity of activity, thus forming a larger particle. 
These larger particles, in turn circling around each 
other, form a still larger, and so on, until finally is 
evolved the particle known to Science to-day as the 
“ion,” “corpuscle,” “electron,” etc., which are now per¬ 
ceived to group together and form the “atom” of matter. 


150 


THE MASTERY OF BEING . 


This entire process, remember, is purely mental in 
character—merely the growth and development of the 
idea of the Nature forming in Universal Mind. 

The Appearance of Matter. 

With the birth of the atom, matter appears. Matter, 
which the uninformed mind regards as the most real 
substance in Nature, really is merely the product of 
the ideative thought of the Universal Mind of SPIRIT. 
All matter is produced in this way; there is no other 
way in which it can be produced. Just as man may 
distinguish the difference between his thoughts and his 
mind, so is there this difference between matter and the 
Infinite Mind that thinks it into being as an idea. The 
“idea” of matter entertained by the Infinite Mind of 
SPIRIT gives to matter its peculiar and special charac¬ 
teristics. Matter is just what it is, merely because the 
“idea” of it held in the Infinite Mind of SPIRIT 
makes it just what it is. Matter does not make itself 
what it is. Nor does its “just-what-it-is” character 
arise from or by chance, for there is no such thing as 
chance. The idea of matter includes the ideas of 
weight, extension, and all the other qualities of matter. 
The characteristics of matter are thought into it by 
means of the idea of matter in Universal Mind. And 
the laws governing and determining the activities of 


THE MASTERY OF BEING . 151 

matter are also thought into being in the same idea. 
It is just as if a man were to form the idea of a new 
thing called matter in the course of writing a strange 
story of a strange new world, with this difference, that 
when Universal Mind forms an idea that idea is im¬ 
posed upon all other creations of Universal Mind. 
Everything that follows in the course of the evolving 
idea is bound by the laws and terms of the idea imposed 
upon it in its creation. 

The Story of Evolution. 

The rest of the story from this point on is but the 
familiar and oft-repeated tale of Evolution as taught 
by modern Science. Atoms of various kinds and de¬ 
grees of vibration and arrangements of particles de¬ 
veloped different characteristics. Likes and dislikes 
began to manifest between them. Affinities caused cer¬ 
tain of them to form unions and groups, and new and 
strange forms of Matter appeared by reason of the 
different combinations. It will be seen, of course, that 
this evolution of form and variety arose solely by reason 
of the evolution of the idea of Creation. The inner 
idea always was the direct cause of the material form 
and characteristics. The inner always preceded the 
outer. 

Atoms combined and formed molecules of a new 


152 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


form of matter. The molecules grouped themselves 
together and formed masses of material form. The 
vibrations of Energy playing in and through matter 
changed its vibrations from time to time by the activi¬ 
ties of heat, the latter being entirely a matter of vibra¬ 
tion. The higher the vibration, the farther apart 
from each other do the molecules separate; the lower 
the vibrations, the closer together do they approach 
each other. These degrees of nearness, or farness, 
caused the differences between solids, fluids, gases, and 
the ultra-gaseous forms of Matter. Nebulae appeared; 
suns were formed; planets were thrown off from suns; 
worlds were created. 

Appearance of the Life Forms. 

The cooling worlds manifested new forms. As the 
possibility of the appearance of life and mind forms 
developed, the life and mind immanent in matter began 
to assert itself and moulded forms of matter to accom¬ 
modate them. This, too, of course, was part of the 
evolving “idea” in Infinite Mind. The crystals of the 
mineral first began to manifest intelligent growth and 
reproduction of form from the mother liquor. Then ]] 
began the evolution toward organic life forms. Using 
the terms of modern Science, let us say that first begins 
to appear the radiobes, then comes the chlomacea, then 


THE MASTERY OF BEING . 


153 


the gymnospores and the angiospores. The chromacea 
is a peculiar form of matter, comprising the charac¬ 
teristics of both mineral and plant life. It is found in 
the deposits upon damp rocks, bark of trees, etc. From 
it develop the angiospores, which are the simplest forms 
of plant life, and the gymnospores, which are the sim¬ 
plest forms of animal life. 

From the above lowly forms to the moneron of 
Haeckel is but a step, although that step took millions 
of years of time to make the transformation. The 
moneron is the tiny glue-drop-like cell found at the 
bottom of the ocean bed, without organs, without even 
a nucleus, and yet manifesting life and mind. Then 
came the amoeba, the protozoa, and the variety of ele¬ 
mentary life forms; then the starfishes, the sea urchins, 
the molluscs; then evolved the fishes, the reptiles, the 
birds, the marsupials, the lower forms of mammals; 
then the higher forms; then, at last, primitive man. 
To go into detail here is but to repeat the pages of the 
familiar text-books. And throughout all this process— 
during all these ages of time—there was working the 
evolving idea in the Infinite Mind of SPIRIT. The 
evolution toward Life and of Life is ever working out 
and unfolding in the idea. Living forms are ever 
being thought into being. 


CHAPTER XIX. 


Law and Change. 

D through this wondrous evolution there is 



manifest ever invariable and unchanging 
Law. This law is mental law—logical laws. 


Everything proceeds from step to step, from unfold- 
ment to unfoldment, in orderly sequence and regularity, 
as if an absolutely logical process were under way, as 
indeed it is. By this is not meant that each step is 
planned out beforehand; on the contrary each step pro¬ 
ceeds logically the one immediately preceding it and in 
turn develops the one next succeeding it. Failures are 
made, blind alleys are entered, but even these and their 
consequences are perfectly logical and the inevitable re¬ 
sult of all that has gone before. An experimental step 
here works certain results of success or failure a little 
farther on. Foresight is not claimed for the creative 
processes of Universal Mind any more than it is for 
any ideative, progressive process. It is simply a prog¬ 
ress step by step, in this direction and in that, striving 
here and trying there, the unfolding idea being ever 
behind the evolution of form, shape, variety, and activ¬ 
ity. But each step is the only possible logical step. ■■ 



THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


155 


Reason recognizes that the Universe is governed by 
Law. Each event in Nature is the inevitable and neces¬ 
sarily determined event logically proceeding from all 
that has gone before. There is no Chance in Nature. 
Law reigns everywhere throughout Nature’s domains. 
There are no exceptions, no illogical sequences, no vari¬ 
ation from lawful and orderly procedure. 

Law, not Fate. 

This does not mean that Fate rules, or that SPIRIT 
predestines results. On the contrary there is nothing 
consciously predestined in Nature, and Fate is but a 
word conveying a half truth. SPIRIT is not con¬ 
sciously aware a second before an event occurs of what 
that event will be; and yet that event will be the only 
event that is logically possible and which could occur, 
considering all of the existent conditions past and pres¬ 
ent. There is no arbitrary Fate decreeing this or that 
result; but yet there exists Law that causes everything to 
happen in exact and invariable consequence of all the 
conditions of the case. Fate cannot compel an unlaw¬ 
ful, disorderly, or illogical happening or event. Fate 
is but a shadow of Law, which men have mistaken for 
the real thing. Universal Mind is compelled to mani¬ 
fest logical law in its activities by the very fact of its 
being Universal Mind. From these things arise what 


156 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


is called Natural Law, which thoughtful men have 
ever recognized and which modern science as well as 
ancient and modern philosophy positively asserts to 
exist. Everything in the Universe is under Law. 
Nothing great or small can escape Law. The fact of 
Universal Law is a positive proof of the mental origin 
of Nature. 

Omnipresent Change. 

Moreover, the fact of the mental origin of Nature is 
shown by the ever-present and ever-active manifesta¬ 
tion of CHANGE in all natural things. We have 
seen elsewhere that consciousness is possible only where 
there is a constant change of the object of conscious¬ 
ness. This is true of Universal Mind as well as of 
Sense-Mind. Consequently we need not feel surprised 
when we see that all Nature, and all the Universe, is 
in a constant state of flux, everything changing its 
shape, form, or activities from the very moment of its 
birth or creation. Everything is in constant motion, 
from atoms to suns, from Universes to the particles of 
which atoms are composed. Shape, forms, position, 
activities, conditions, and all else, physical and mental, 
are ever changing. Nothing remains the same for two 
consecutive moments, and no two things are ever the 
same at the same moment. Infinite variety and infinite 
change, this is the order of Nature. Everything is horn, 


THE MASTERY OF BEING . 


157 


rises, declines, and perishes—everything, from atoms to 
universes. There is nothing changeless save SPIRIT. 
And this change is seen by the wise to arise from the 
manifestation of consciousness on the part of the Infi¬ 
nite Mind of SPIRIT. And this consciousness is the 
“lifeness of life” of the Spirit of Life, which is 
SPIRIT. 

And so proceeds the course of Nature; so manifests 
the Universe; so evolves the Cosmos. Under the veil 
of the form and shape of Matter may ever be seen the 
Spirit of Life striving, moving, changing, pulsating, 
evolving, building up, tearing down, rebuilding, cre¬ 
ating, destroying, resolving, and dissolving its outward 
forms and shapes, and yet ever remaining constant 
itself. 

Everything “Becoming.” 

Men have sought to personify these activities of 
Nature and to explain them by human desires. Hera¬ 
clitus said that Nature evidently finds pleasure in cre¬ 
ating and pain in holding created forms rigid, for she 
is ever creating and yet ever destroying or changing 
her creations. Others picture the constructive and de¬ 
structive forces of Nature as engaged in a titanic war¬ 
fare and struggle,—one striving to build up, and the 
other to tear down,—the result being that nothing is 
stable but everything is ever changing. The Hindu 


158 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


mythology pictures a Trinity of Brahma the Creator, 
Vishnu the Preserver, and Shiva the Destroyer. Cycles 
follow cycles. Worlds, nations, families, and individu¬ 
als have their birth, their growth, their decline, their 
death. Like the tides, everything created, large and 
small, has its rise and fall, its ebb and flow. The Law 
of Change is ever in operation. The Law of Activity 
is always evident. Nothing stands still. Everything 
moves. Everything changes. Everything flows. Every¬ 
thing passes. Everything rises. Everything falls. 
Everything has its reappearance in new form. Nature 
experiences a million millions of births each second of 
time. In the same time she experiences a million mil¬ 
lions of deaths, and yet Nature exists ever, birthless 
and deathless. 


Spirit in Nature. 

Nature is the outward manifestation of the nature 
of SPIRIT. Her activities are the expression of the 
consciousness of the Universal Mind of SPIRIT. Her 
energies are the expressions of the power of SPIRIT. 
Her Law and Orderly Sequence are the manifestations 
of the Law of SPIRIT. And yet, outside of the Uni¬ 
versal Mind of SPIRIT, Nature has no existence what¬ 
soever. In herself she is as Nothing, and yet in her 
manifestation she is as Everything. An American 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


159 


playwright makes her speak through the lips of one of 
his characters, saying: “I am to-day this; yesterday, 
a pine upon a mountain crag; to-morrow, a butterfly, 
a blade of grass, a rainbow over a waterfall, a lizard 
warming on a rock, the rock itself, a beam of the moon. 
I am nothing because I am everything; everything 
because I am nothing.” 

And from this consciousness of Nature’s universal 
everythingness comes to some souls that sense of the 
joy of life, the spirit of Nature, which identifies one’s 
self with The All, and The All with one’s self. The 
ancient Greeks deified Nature because they saw in her 
activities the expression of the life of the World-Spirit. 
Blessed indeed is he who can feel this great joy of 
Nature’s Life flowing through his veins, thrilling his 
pulses and throbbing his heart. To such a one has 
come a great joy; for, at the last, the wise know that,— 

“The All is One, and all are part, 

And not apart as they seem to be; 

And the blood of life has a single heart, 
Beating through God, and cloud, and Me.” 


CHAPTER XX. 


Immanent Spirit. 

S TATEMENT: SPIRIT is Immanent in all of its 

Creation, and in every part thereof; and in 
essence, nature, substance, and principle is iden¬ 
tical therewith. 

Students of Truth are often so carried away with 
the almost absolute distinction between SPIRIT and 
its finite Creation that they lose sight of the essential 
fact of the Oneness and the Only-ness of SPIRIT, and 
of the fact that Creation is an expression of SPIRIT— 
SPIRIT in outward activity. Creation is not pure 
illusion, though many have so taught in absence of the 
view of the other side of Truth. It is the most real 
thing that can be, with the exception of SPIRIT-in- 
Itself. Creation is really SPIRIT-in-Manifestation, *T 
not a separate thing. Just as all Creation is in 
SPIRIT, so is SPIRIT immanent in all Creation. 
(By “immanent” is meant “remaining within; inher¬ 
ent; internal.”) Therefore, Creation cannot be mere 
illusion or delusion. Though its forms are but phan¬ 
tasmal appearances, fading away even as they appear, 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


161 


its essence, nature, substance, and very being is 
SPIRIT itself. 

The primary laws of thought hold that the essence, 
nature, substance, and very being of a thing remain 
the same, notwithstanding the difference of the forms, 
shapes, states, or conditions under which the thing oc¬ 
curs, presents itself, or appears. Also, that what IS is 
always Itself and never not Itself. We have seen, also, 
that ALL that is in VERY BEING is in SPIRIT. 

Spirit in Creation. 

From the above we see that ALL that is real in 
Creation must be in SPIRIT; there is nowhere else it 
could be. As it is in SPIRIT, it follows that SPIRIT 
must be in it; for SPIRIT is everywhere and in every¬ 
thing that is, by reason of the primary facts of its 
nature. More than this, the real essence, nature, sub¬ 
stance, and very being of Creation, and all the parts 
thereof, must be actually and in fact naught but 
SPIRIT itself. There is nothing else but SPIRIT 
to be the real essence, nature, substance, and very being 
of Creation and all the parts thereof; and nothing else 
for SPIRIT to be, so long as there is Creation in 
existence. 

Spirit Is Always Spirit. 

Moreover, as SPIRIT is always SPIRIT and can 


162 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


never be anything else bnt SPIRIT,—as SPIRIT is 
always SPIRIT in essence, nature, substance, and very 
being, notwithstanding the infinite variety of difference 
in the forms, shapes, states, or conditions under which 
it occurs, presents itself, or appears in its Creation 
and all the parts thereof,—then it follows that SPIRIT 
is the INNER THING of the Cosmos, and that that \/ 
which we call the Cosmos is merely the OUTER 
THING of SPIRIT. In this sense we see that not 
only is SPIRIT immanent in the Cosmos, but also that 
SPIRIT and the Cosmos, and all the parts thereof, 
are identical in essence, nature, substance, and very 
being. 

The Totality of Spirit. 

We have seen that SPIRIT is Immutable and In¬ 
divisible, Changeless and Inseparable. Therefore, 
SPIRIT cannot change itself into the Universe; neither 
can it divide itself into the Universe. This being so, 
it follows that the Universe, and every part thereof, has 
as its essence, nature, substance, and principle, not only 
SPIRIT, but actually, verily, truthfully, and in fact 
the TOTALITY of SPIRIT—ALL-SPIRIT. This is 
a stupendous idea, a magnificent conception, a star¬ 
tling and almost terrifying conclusion. But it is the 
inevitable report of trained and developed reason di¬ 
rected to the subject. It is the ultimate report of 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


163 


Reason regarding the nature of the Cosmos, which is 
the Creation of SPIRIT. The reason cannot escape 
from it. Being true to itself, it must so report. 

The TOTALITY of SPIRIT is immanent in and 
identical with every thing, fact, detail, event, or activity 
of Creation. 

It is most difficult for the average mind to assimilate 
this terrific report of reason. Such a mind must ap¬ 
proach the fact very carefully, cautiously, and gradu¬ 
ally. The reason may positively report a great truth, 
but it is often a long and tedious process to assimilate 
the truth thus reported by the reason. The mind must 
not attempt to “bolt” such a large portion of Truth as 
this, but must mentally masticate it, slowly swallow it, 
and then digest it gradually. It is necessary to “Fletch- 
erize” the Truth; to allow it to “swallow itself” as it 
dissolves in the saliva of apperception; and, finally, to 
allow it time, quiet, and ease in its digestion. Other¬ 
wise the outraged mind may indignantly regurgitate it; 
or else, retaining it, may give its owner a severe attack 
of mental and spiritual dyspepsia. 

The Truth may be masticated by illustrations from 
previous experience. Apperception consists in assim¬ 
ilation of new perceptions with old ones.. If the mind 
is given an illustration of some familiar experience, it 
will associate the new fact with it, and all will then be 


164 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


well. Therefore, let us consider a few familiar experi¬ 
ences as an illustration of this Truth. 

Illustration. 

Every one has a mind. Every one creates ideas, v 
images, and thoughts in that mind. Mental images, 
thought-forms, mental creations are always appearing 
in the mind. The mind is never inactive, on all of its 
planes, at any time, even in sleep. It is always cre¬ 
ating, working, manufacturing, and everything in it is 
constantly changing, while the mind itself persists. 
And everything that is created in the mind is always 
associated with other creations that precede or follow 
it. The Law of Continuity and Association is ever 
evident and active in mental processes. The Law of 
Change is equally evident there. In fact, every law 
that we have seen to be manifest in the Cosmos may he 
seen in operation in the processes of the Mind. 

We have seen that Mind creates thought-forms, im¬ 
ages, etc. How? Does it take some of its own ma¬ 
terial, make up thought, and then set it adrift for 
itself? Apparently not. It is unthinkable that Mind 
can take material from itself, use it up, and set it 
adrift in this way. How, then, can it create thought ? 
Simply in the way of mental appearance or presenta¬ 
tion to itself. In some way different from anything 


THE MASTERY OF BEING . 


165 


else we see in Nature it is able to form in itself (not 
out of itself) thought-forms, mental images, etc., hold 
them up to its own inspection and consideration, and 
then dismiss them. And all the time Mind itself re¬ 
mains unchanged in essence, nature, substance, and 
principle. So far the illustration seems to “go on all 
fours” (as the lawyers say) with SPIRIT in Creation, 
does it not? Let us pursue it further and see whether 
or not it will continue to “work out.” 

Immanence in Thought. 

A leading authority says: “We are never conscious 
of any experience separated or detached from the mind. 

* * * You yourself enter as a constituent into every 
menial fact of which you are conscious. In other words, 
in being conscious of mental facts we are conscious of 
ourselves. * * * As you never know the act or state of / 
experience apart from yourself, so you never know 
yourself apart from the act or state of experience. * * * 
The self of consciousness exists, not apart from, but as 
an element of the various experiences of which we are 
conscious.” Is not this a good illustration of the im¬ 
manence of the thinker in his thought-creations ? Raise 
this idea to the Universal and have we not a fair work¬ 
ing illustration of the presence of Creation in SPIRIT 
and the immanence of SPIRIT in Creation? 


166 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


“Characters.” 

But, you may object, this illustration may do very 
well so far as inanimate objects go; but how about liv¬ 
ing beings, persons with distinct “characters”? The 
mind does not think characters into being. Doesn’t it? 
Consider a moment. Do not novelists, poets, and dram¬ 
atists create “characters” in their mind? Do they not 
live themselves out in their characters? So real are 
these created characters that we feel as if they were 
real characters we have known; we weep over them and 
rejoice with them. But the characters would be noth¬ 
ing whatever unless the mind and life of their creators 
were in them. Othello would be nothing were it not 
for Shakespeare. Uriah Heep would be nothing were it 
not for Dickens. These Creators enter into their char¬ 
acters and impart life to them; they live through them, 
feel through them, act through. them, speak through 
them. Note this: Just as these characters exist in 
the mind creating them, so does the mind creating them 
exist in and through the characters. The character is 
in the Creator; the Creator is in the character. Is 
Othello himself or his Creator? the Moor or Shake¬ 
speare? Is Uriah Heep merely the character who is 
“so humble, so very humble,” or is he Dickens looking 
through Uriah’s eyes and speaking through his lips? 
Where does the Creator leave off and character begin? 


167 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 

The Artist in His Creations. 

Moreover, the writer, poet, or dramatist frequently 
arrives at a knowledge of himself by the very creation 
of his characters. He knows himself by reason of them 
just as others know him by reason of them. The cre¬ 
ative artist unfolds his own nature by reason of the 
unfoldment of his characters. What has been said here 
regarding the creation of characters in fiction, poetry, 
or the drama is also true—perhaps still more true—in 
the case of the painter or sculptor who materializes his 
mental creations. He not only lives through them, but 
he also gives to them objective form. When we view 
the Venus of Milo, we see the soul of the sculptor long 
since passed from mortal view; it lives in and through 
its creation. When we gaze at the inscrutable smile 
on the lips of the Mona Lisa, we are in touch with the 
soul of Leonardo da Vinci, the artist who lived several 
hundred years ago. These men not only created these 
characters, and lived through them, but gave to them 
objective shape and form and continue to live through 
their own material bodies. Yes, “characters” may be 
mentally created as well as mere forms, images, and 
abstract ideas. 

But, you say, these are but figurative examples; these 
creations are not real; they do not actually live and 
move and have their being in material form. True; 


168 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


but give to the artist Infinity of Being, Absolute 
Power, and Infinite Substance of Mind, what would 
result? And remember that even finite man may work 
out his mental creations in matter by the use of his 
hands. Cannot Infinite SPIRIT so work it out with¬ 
out the necessity of hands, particularly if we stop to 
consider that the Substance of Universal Mind is the 
Ultimate Substance, the SUBSTANCE of Substance? 
Could not such a MIND crystallize or congeal its 
thoughts into objective form if it so desired? 

Identity and Totality. 

There is, however, one more point not as yet brought 
out in the illustration—the fact that the TOTALITY 
of SPIRIT is in the smallest detail of the Manifesta¬ 
tion. Going back to the illustration for a moment 
more, we may see that Mind cannot be divided; it is a 
Whole. Therefore the Whole Mind is back of and 
immanent in the smallest thought. Not all of its 
poiver, perhaps, but all of its being. It was not a 
part of Shakespeare’s mind that created Othello and 
was immanent in it; not a part of the mind of Dickens 
that created and lived through Uriah Heep; not a part 
of the mind of the unknown artist that created and 
lived in and through the Venus de Milo; not a part of 
the mind of Leonardo da Vinci that created and smiles 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


169 


through the countenance of the Mona Lisa. Mind, be¬ 
ing immaterial, does not occupy space. It cannot be 
divided into parts. It is a Unity—Indivisible. Wher¬ 
ever Unity is at all, there must all of it be. It must 
always be regarded as a Whole. Here, too, we find the 
illustration sustains us. 

But apart from the aptness and fitness of any finite 
illustration, the reason reports that all Creation must 
be in SPIRIT; that SPIRIT must be in all Creation; 
that the TOTALITY OF SPIRIT is back of, behind, 
and IN every detail of Creation. For All-that-IS is 
in SPIRIT. SPIRIT cannot be other than Itself and 
is always Itself. SPIRIT remains the same in its 
essence, nature, substance, and very being, notwith¬ 
standing the differences apparent in the forms, shapes, 
states, and conditions of its Creation—the phenomenal 
aspects in which it occurs, appears, and presents itself. 
And, finally, SPIRIT being Immutable and Indivis¬ 
ible cannot change itself into anything; not divide 
itself into anything. It thus follows that whatever IS 
dwells and abides in the Totality of SPIRIT, and the 
TOTALITY OF SPIRIT is immanent in it and, at 
the last, is identical with it. 

Here, then, have we arrived at the end of this stage 
of the Journey. Here we have attained the end of our 
Inquiry. We have found Ultimate REALITY for which 


170 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


we sought. We have found it at the very center of our 
own Being. Later we may learn how to MANIFEST 
it in our own lives; but first we must pause to fully 
assimilate the knowledge we have gained. 


CHAPTER XXI. 


Creative Power of Thought. 


W E have seen that man is the expression of 
SPIRIT. SPIRIT is immanent in him 
in its totality. Man may express as much 
of the Creative Power of SPIRIT as he is capable of 
focusing and manifesting in conscious realization. The 
power of Thought is recognized by all students of psy¬ 
chology, mysticism, and occultism; but very few of the 
many theories advanced to account for the same are 
true. The majority endeavor to account for Thought- 
Power by means of physical analogies, such as thought- 
waves, thought-vibrations, etc. But the whole secret 
lies in the fact that man is a miniature edition of 
SPIRIT. He is the microcosm to the macrocosm of 
SPIRIT. The Law of SPIRIT is also the law of 
man’s mentality. What SPIRIT does on the Infinite 
scale man may do on the finite scale. 

The activities of SPIRIT are purely Creative. 
SPIRIT is forever and forever creating. Even the de¬ 
structive activities of SPIRIT are really creative, for 
it is but a rearrangement of old materials in new forms. 
The old perishes to give birth to the new. The Law 


172 


THE MASTERY OF BEING . 


of Change is but an expression of the Creative Law 
which lies at the heart of the Will and Ideation of 
SPIRIT. SPIRIT is ever willing and desirous of 
expressing itself in creative activity. It loses no op¬ 
portunity for so doing, and apparently welcomes any 
creative invitation on the part of man. 

How Man May Create. 

Man, when he understands his Spiritual nature and 
possibilities, may direct the inner activities of SPIRIT 
along his own lines. He may do this through and by 
reason of the Ideative Powers of his Mind. Building 
up ideals and mental forms in his mind, and allowing 
the Will to flow in and through these, man is able to 
materialize his ideals and mental pictures in objective 
and material form. He thus becomes a miniature 
world builder, for every man’s world is his individual 
universe. When man understands this, he is no longer 
the slave of circumstances, but becomes a Creative Mas¬ 
ter of Circumstance. From being the passive chess¬ 
man on the board of life, he takes a hand in the game 
and makes moves on his own account. 

We have given but a hint here of the “why” and 
“how” of the employment of the Creative Power of 
Thought by man. But in this hint is contained the 
secret of the entire field of the activities of Creative 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


173 


Thought which has attracted so much attention of re¬ 
cent years from the followers of the “New Thought” 
and allied movements. The hundreds of books written 
on the subject, with their often startling and bizarre 
theories, really seek to teach this one fact. One may 
study for years without finding the Master Key to the 
science of Creative Thought. But here it is given 
in a few lines: MANIFEST BY IDEATION AND 
VOLITION—BY MENTAL IMAGES AND WILL— 
THE CREATIVE SPIRITUAL POWER WHICH 
IS IMMANENT IN YOU BY REASON OF YOUR 
IDENTITY WITH SPIRIT. 

Recognition and Manifestation. 

But man can manifest only in the degree that he 
really recognizes and realizes the Truth. More than a 
mere intellectual acceptance is required. Man must 
feel in his very heart and soul that SPIRIT is in him 
and he in SPIRIT; that, at the last, SPIRIT and he 
are identical in the totality of essence, nature, sub¬ 
stance, and principle. This realization is often a mat¬ 
ter of slow and gradual development. Man has been 
so hypnotized with the belief in his own separateness 
and inferiority that he fails to realize inwardly the 
Truth, even when he recognizes it intellectually. It is 
only when the SPIRIT in him wakes up to the fact 


174 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


that it is Itself in verity, truth, and fact in man; it is 
only then that man is able to exercise his Creative 
Power. But every step in that direction brings its 
reward and success. Every step on the Path of Attain¬ 
ment gives a better, higher, and clearer view of the 
surrounding mental country and man strengthens his 
spiritual limbs by the exercise on The Path. 

Man is like a young spiritual giant,—he has not as 
}-et learned his own strength. As he awakens to the 
facts of his being, then he discovers his latent powers, 
possibilities, and capabilities. Often this recognition 
comes to him only when he hears the call of another 
who has discovered his Inner Strength. 

The Awakened Lion. 

The Orientals have a fable which illustrates this: 
A lion cub strayed away from its mother and the rest 
of the brood, and, becoming lost, was adopted by a 
sheep which had lost her own lamb. The lion grew 
up with the sheep of the flock and never dreamed that 
he was other than a sheep. But finally one day on the 
crest of a neighboring hill appeared another lion, 
grown up, magnificent of build, and with great tawny 
mane. With sonorous voice, roaring proud defiance to 
the world, the visiting lion stood, vibrating the air with 
the strength of his call. The lion who had thought 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


175 


himself a sheep listened like one in a trance. Some¬ 
thing within him was touched; something stirred within 
his inner being. A moment he paused, and then, send¬ 
ing forth an answering roar, which shook the very hills 
around him, leaped off to join his brother on the hills. 
He had discovered that he was a lion! Something like 
this happens at times to men and women, when they 
hear the note of some one who has discovered the 
Mastery of Being within himself, and who sends for¬ 
ward the Message of SPIRIT to his brothers and sisters 
on the plains among the sheep. 

The awakened SPIRIT is roused to the recognition 
and realization of itself in man, and, as a great teacher 
expresses it, "it hews open the path, as the lightning 
flash splits the darkness, * * * dissolves doubts, cuts 
knots of chronic impossibility, melts circumstances, 
pierces shadows like a flash of glory, dashes through 
the jungle of appearances like the horn of the unicorn. 
It is the sword of the spirit of truth, The flash of the 
will that can/ ” 

In this perception, and this alone, is to be found the 
secret of Creative Thought of the mind of man. Make 
it your own, your very own. Let the warrior within 
you fight the battles of life for and through you, for 
he is your REAL SELF, the Abiding SPIRIT which 
is perceived as YOURSELF at the last. 


176 


THE MASTERY OF BEING . 


Mastery. 

Man is Master of his Being in the degree of his 
recognition, realization, and manifestation of his 
IDENTITY with SPIRIT. In the degree that he 
allows SPIRIT to unfold and manifest itself through 
him in the directions of Conscious Recognition of the 
REAL SELF,—which is SPIRIT,—so will be the de¬ 
gree of his Mastery. As SPIRIT awakens to self- 
consciousness within him, it will raise him up to as yet 
undreamed-of heights of attainment and mastery. 

In the above few words is to be found the key to the 
demonstration of those who have awakened to the 
SOMETHING WITHIN,—the experience of INNER 
BEING, which has always been known to the wise of 
the race. Many have stumbled unawares upon this 
great truth of Being, and have manifested its power 
without being aware of the nature of the Something 
Within which has manifested its power and glory in 
their soul. 

It is as if SPIRIT had been indulging in a dream, 
imagining itself to be John Jones or Mary Smith, and 
then gradually awakens to the realization that these 
are simply forms of disguise or masks used in the 
Dramatization of the Universe. The awakening SPIRIT 
gradually asserts itself and manifests its power as its 
true consciousness increases and grows clear. This, in 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


177 


effect, is what the evolving soul of man is doing. From 
simple consciousness it has passed on through many 
stages into self-consciousness, and is now proceeding to 
Cosmic Consciousness of its Identity with All. 


CHAPTER XXII. 


Identity with Spirit. 

S TATEMENT: SPIRIT identifies Itself with those 
of Its characterizations which demonstrate their 
ability to consciously identify themselves with 
IT. The conscious recognition of such IDENTITY by 
the Intellect constitutes the Perception of Truth; the 
conscious realization of it by the Intuition constitutes 
Illumination; the conscious manifestation and demon¬ 
stration of it by Volition and Ideation constitutes the 
Mastery of Being. 

The Message of Truth. 

In the above statement is announced the Message of 
the Perception of Truth, of Illumination, of the Mas¬ 
tery of Being. It is the highest Message possible of 
delivery to man. In it is contained the gist and es¬ 
sence of all esoteric and occult teaching. Book after 
book may be written to elaborate and illustrate this 
Truth; but the essence ever remains the same, for it is 
the very TRUTH of Truths. 


179 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 

The Perception of Truth. 

In the preceding chapters we have sought to bring 
to the student the first stage of the conscious recogni¬ 
tion of Infinite Identification—the conscious recogni¬ 
tion by the Intellect, which constitutes the Perception 
of Truth. To this end the axioms embodying the 
highest report of the reason have been presented to 
you, and you have been invited to make them your 
own. The practice and habitual employment of the 
Axioms of Reality will exercise and develop the Intellect 
to the point where the absolute conscious recognition of 
SPIRIT becomes a fact of your mental being. 

But the above statement mentions the existence of two 
succeeding stages—that of conscious realization by the 
Intuition, and conscious manifestation and demonstra¬ 
tion by Volition and Ideation. These are the stages of 
Illumination and Mastery, respectively. Let us now 
consider them. 


Intuition. 

The statement announces that the conscious realiza¬ 
tion of the identity with SPIRIT by the Intuition 
constitutes Illumination. Let us pause a moment to 
consider what Intuition is and how one may realize 
Truth by means of it. 

“Intuition” is defined as “direct apprehension or 


180 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


cognition; immediate knowledge, as in perception or 
consciousness involving no reasoning process; percep¬ 
tion by the mind immediately and without the inter¬ 
vention of argument or testimony/’ The term was 
first used in the Scholastic Philosophy of many cen¬ 
turies ago, where it signified the means whereby man 
obtained a knowledge of God without the need of the 
reasoning faculties. It afterward passed into general 
philosophy, where it was used to indicate a supposed 
elemental knowledge of certain general facts and truths 
of the universe. In a closer usage it was employed to 
designate a supposed faculty of the mind, possessed by 
a favored few, which was superior to reason and which 
enabled its possessors to philosophize in a manner im¬ 
possible to the common man who depended solely upon 
reason. 

Reason vs. Intuition. 

Modern philosophy, however, and modern psychology 
in particular, have been inclined to deny the validity of 
the so-called Intuitive Faculties of man. It is now 
generally held that the so-called intuitions are the 
products of evolution and heredity and are akin to race- 
memory ; in short. Intuition is held to be identical with 
instinct. Innate ideas are denied upon the same 
grounds. The general philosophic thought of to-day 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


181 


holds that reason is the only source of knowledge pos¬ 
sible to man, and echoes the words of Jami, the Sufi 
poet:— 

“And first with Reason, which is also best; 

Reason that rights the wanderer, that completes 
The imperfect; Reason that resolves the knot 
Of either world, and sees beyond the veil. 

“For Reason is the fountain spring of old 
From which the ptrophets drew, and none beside. 
Who boasts of other inspiration, lies; 

There are no other prophets than the wise.” 

Esoteric; Teaching. 

But in the occult and esoteric teaching of all ages 
there is ever found the insistent claim that man pos¬ 
sesses certain faculties or powers of intuitive percep¬ 
tion, not adapted to receiving reports of the objective 
world, but which may and do receive reports from one’s 
own inner nature and being will li are impossible to 
the sense organs or the perception arising therefrom. 
Such teachings hold that man is able to turn his mental 
gaze inward, as well as outward, and thus to obtain 
reliable and valid reports of his own inner nature and 
being, which may afterward be considered by the reason 
and deductions made therefrom. As we have said, phi- 


182 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


losophy and science have frowned upon this idea and 
have declared it to be but vain imagining. But there 
has recently arisen in the philosophical firmament a 
new philosopher of the first magnitude, who positively 
asserts the existence of Intuition in man and declares 
that there is a certain knowledge possible to man only 
through the exercise of Intuition, the reason being un¬ 
able to explore the field of such knowledge. This phi¬ 
losopher of the revolutionary idea is Henri Bergson, 
whose work is now attracting the attention of the world 
of philosophy. 

The New Philosophy. 

Bergson claims that Truth is known to man only 
through the interaction of Intellect and Intuition. He 
claims that Intellect informs us only regarding material 
things; Intuition informs us only regarding the inner 
nature and facts of life and being. He claims that the 
Intellect is a nucleus formed by a contraction or nar¬ 
rowing of the power of consciousness, and that around 
it is a fringe of more comprehensive consciousness; in 
the latter the power of Intuition lies. The Intellect, 
he says, has been constructed by the evolutionary life 
forces to serve the practical purposes of the creatures 
possessing it, and that its very limitations add to its 
usefulness in its own particular field. Bergson insists 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


183 


that the Intellect is neither supreme nor absolute, not 
even the only source of knowledge. Intuition is held 
not to be compared with the Intellect so far as the 
practical knowledge of the objective world is concerned, 
our practical knowledge being almost entirely intellec¬ 
tual. But in its own field Intuition far surpasses the 
, Intellect and gives us knowledge utterly unknown to 
the latter. Bergson, however, claims that, while the 
knowledge reported by Intuition is perfect in its nature, 
it is limited in its scope. For, as he says, “There are 
things that the Intellect alone is able to seek but that 
by itself it will never find. Those things Intuition 
alone can find; but it will never seek them of itself.” 

The Something Within. 

Schopenhauer, in advancing his conception of the 
World-Will, held that the Intellect can never under¬ 
stand or know the Will, the latter being more elemental 
than reason. He held, however, that the existence of 
the Will as Ultimate Principle can be perceived in a 
unique way by turning the mental gaze inward; at the 
very center of being will be found the Will, and its 
nature may be understood only by a study of its activi¬ 
ties within ourselves. The Hindu philosophers have 
always held that the Essence of Being—SPIRIT—may 
be perceived intuitively by turning inward the percep- 


184 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


tive activities by the concentrated exercise of the Will. 
The pages of the writings of the mystics are filled with 
instances of the conscious intuitive perception of 
Union with God, or similar transcendental mental 
states. So common in the experience of the race is 
this mental phenomenon that it is everywhere recog¬ 
nized under the name of “Illumination.” 

Mystic Illumination. 

By “Illumination” is meant the illumining or light¬ 
ing up of the mind by an influx of new knowledge 
and perception. Those who have attained this stage 
of Intuition have been known as “The Illuminati,” this 
title having been used by the Rosicrucians and other 
organizations of mystics. Illumination is generally 
held to be a strange, mystic experience or inrush of 
new knowledge. Such is the conception of the mystics, 
and such is the conception of the idea of “Cosmic Con¬ 
sciousness” of which so much has been heard during the 
past decade. This form of Illumination has been com¬ 
mon in all phases of religious thought and practice, 
and even outside of religious bodies. Many of the 
Saints of all religions have recited instances of it; 
while, on the other hand, men like Tennyson and Whit¬ 
man have testified to similar experiences. The under¬ 
lying experience common to all those relating the 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


185 


strange happening is that of a sudden sense of “Oneness 
with God or BEING/’ This sense of Oneness has 
been variously interpreted by the members of the sev¬ 
eral religious beliefs favored by those experiencing it, 
but its universality takes it out from creed interpreta¬ 
tion or sect possession and raises it to a much more 
exalted plane. Maurice Bucke, in his work on “Cosmic 
Consciousness,” claims that it is an inevitable result of 
the evolution of consciousness in the race, and that all 
the race eventually will experience it, although at pres¬ 
ent only a few advanced individuals know it in con¬ 
sciousness. He claims that just as mere sensation was 
succeeded by simple consciousness, and this later by 
self-consciousness, so will the latter be succeeded by 
this universal consciousness in which the individual is 
consciously identified with the All. 

Intellectual Illumination. 

Apart from these instances of mystic experiences, 
many careful, conservative, thoughtful men of philo¬ 
sophic tendency and temperament have experienced a 
gradual unfoldment of some inner faculty of the mind 
which brought to them a consciousness of an identity 
with an Underlying Something which they found at the 
very center of their being, and which was recognized as 
being something far more elemental, fundamental, and 



186 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


real than the Intellectual Self or Ego. This experi¬ 
ence would seem to be analogous to that asserted by 
Schopenhauer, who asserted that the consciousness of 
the Ego or “I” of each individual is in reality the 
“consciousing” of the point of connection or identity 
with the World-Will, or SPIRIT. This experience is 
not the mystic, ecstatic “Union” of religious devotees 
or poets, but rather the calm “awareness” of the philo¬ 
sophic temperament. And instead of being regarded 
by those experiencing it as a supernatural or transcen¬ 
dental happening, it is treated as a valid and natural 
report of some form of inner perception, and is then 
passed on to the reason for classification and deduction. 

“Seeing” and “Feeling.” 

The statement makes the distinction between the 
recognition by the Intellect and the realization by the 
Intuition, the first resulting in the Perception of 
Truth and the latter in Illumination. The distinction 
may well be considered in the terms of certain esoteric 
teachings in which the recognition by the Intellect is 
considered as the “seeing” phase of perception, and the 
realization by the Intuition as the “feeling” phase of 
the perception. The real, full, perfect, and complete 
Knowledge of Truth comes only from the combined 
report of Intellect and Intuition—the recognition joined 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


187 


to the realization. It is only when one both “sees” 
and “feels” the Truth that he knows the Truth. “See¬ 
ing” without the accompanying “feeling” is cold and 
unsatisfying, the intellect never satisfying the inner 
longing for Truth; while “feeling” without the “see¬ 
ing” is likewise unsatisfying, except perhaps to the poet 
or religious enthusiast, for the outraged Intellect voices 
its disapproval and gives its owner no peace. It is 
only when the Intuition and Intellect join hands, when 

t 

they stand side by side and see the same Truth, that 
the entire mental being is satisfied and finds peace. 

The Coming of Peace. 

Some of the wisest of the race, in the older schools 
of esoteric teaching, have insisted that the only satisfy¬ 
ing Illumination is that of “The Illumination of the 
Intellect by the Intuition,” when the power of Intuition 
is admitted to the Intellect and runs freely over its 
wires and brings the glow to the lamps of reason. 
Then and then alone comes that satisfying peace, that 
calm of “seeing” and rest of “feeling,” that “peace 
which passeth all understanding.” 

Illumination is the clearing away of the smoke of 
illusion from the tear-stained eyes of the individual, 
that he may see what he is in his Real Self. He then 
perceives not only that he lives and moves and has his 


188 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


being in SPIRIT, but also that SPIRIT, in its Totality 
of Being, lives and moves and has its being in HIM. 
Illumination comes gradually to some, instantaneously 
to others. It comes to no two alike. It calls men and 
women in the field, the workshop, the kitchen, as well 
as in the palace or in the parlor. It respects not posi¬ 
tion nor condition. It ever calls its own to it. “When 
the pupil is ready, the Master appears.” “Whereso¬ 
ever I go mine own await me.” “Wheresoever I pass 
mine own know my footsteps and follow me.” As a 
great teacher has said: “And the prophecy is this: 
That those who shall devotedly and sincerely adopt the 
message of truth, rationally interpreted, must inevit¬ 
ably perceive the truth, realize the truth whereby im¬ 
mortality, satisfaction, and freedom are secured.” 

Nirvana. 

An authority, speaking for the Buddhist conception 
of SPIRIT, says: “There is a Japanese proverb which 
says: There are many roads up to the mountain, but 

it is always the same moon that is seen from the top/ 
The Japanese themselves, with a liberality worthy of 
imitation, apply this saying to different forms of re¬ 
ligious belief. The mountain may well typify matter, 
and the summit the highest point on which a climber 
can stand and maintain his separate individual existence 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


189 


in terms of consciousness drawn from the material 
world. This peak may be accessible by any religion 
or without any religion; but Buddhism and its genet¬ 
ically associated systems look beyond. The mountain 
top is the apotheosis of personal existence, the highest 
form of consciousness that can be expressed in terms 
of separate individuality—a sublime elevation where 
many a pilgrim is content to pause. Below him are 
the kingdoms; above him are the stars; the kingdoms 
and stars alike are his. But it is not the end. Deeper 
than the kingdoms and higher than the stars is the 
sky that holds them all. And there alone is peace, 
that peace which the material world cannot give, the 
peace which passeth understanding trained on material 
things, infinite and eternal peace, the peace of limitless 
consciousness unified with limitless will. That peace 
is NIRVANA!” 


Rest for Reason. 

Another authority says: “As knowledge and wisdom 
increase, as our eyes are opened more fully to the eternal 
verities, as we more fully realize the marvelous won¬ 
ders of the Universe, and as we shall be in better accord, 
we may finally come to recognize that ‘our consciousness 
of God is only a part of God’s consciousness of himself, 
all bodies modes of infinite extension, all souls modes 


190 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


of infinite thought/ And as we see more clearly and 
feel more vividly that Ve are inherent parts of its 
glorious Unity, we may hope to reach that ultimate real 
principle of knowledge and being without which there 
can be no rest for reason, or Unity in the Universe/ ” 
A poet of our Western land has voiced this truth 
forcibly in the following lines:— 


ILLUSION. 

By Ella Wheeler Wilcox. 

God and I in space alone, 

And nobody else in view. 

And “Where are the people, 0 Lord,” I said, 
“The earth below and the sky o’erhead, 

And the dead whom once I knew?” 

“That was a dream,” God smiled and said, 

“A dream that seemed to be true; 

There were no people living or dead; 

There was no earth and no sky overhead; 
There was only Myself and you.” 

“Why do I feel no fear,” I asked, 

“Meeting YOU here in this way? 

For I have sinned, I know full well; 

And is there heaven, and is there hell. 

And is this the judgment day?” 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


191 


“Nay! those were dreams,” the great God said, 
“Dreams that have ceased to be; 

There is no such thing as fear or sin; 

There is no YOU—you never have been; 

There is nothing at all hut MET 

Avatars of the Almighty. 

Harold Bolce, in his series of articles in the Cosmo¬ 
politan a year or so ago, said: “And now that man 
has discovered that there resides in his nature a spirit 
or energy that is divine, the colleges say, and that he 
can summon it to work his will, the potency and fu¬ 
ture operations of this force no man can compute. 
Science has found a way through psychology to God; 
the opportunities for the race, through invoking in the 
human consciousness the brooding Spirit that fills all 
space, are absolutely infinite. Science, therefore, is 
demonstrating along new lines, or at least is claiming 
to demonstrate, that man is God made manifest. And 
modern philosophy, as set forth in American universi¬ 
ties, holds this incarnation not as a fanciful and merely 
beautiful ideal, but as a working and understandable 
principle in the soul of humanity. The professors 
therefore stand as the exponents of the teaching that 
man is the embodiment and conscious expression of the 
force that guides all life and holds all matter in its 


VJ2 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


course. Not merely in religious rhetoric, but in reality, 
the schoolmen say, is man the avatar of God. Man 
has begun the cycle of that triumphal daring prophe¬ 
sied by ancient seers, and which appealed so potently 
to the imagination of Poe, who said: ‘Think that the 
sense of individual identity will be gradually merged 
in the general consciousness; that man, for example, 
will at length attain that awfully triumphant epoch 
when he shall recognize his existence as that of Jeho¬ 
vah! * * * This is not an atheistic banishment of God 
and His holy angels, but is, on the contrary, the en¬ 
thronement of a new Jehovah— a God that has become 
conscious and potent in the human mind/ ” 

The Promise. 

Passing on from this consideration, we call your 
attention to the promise contained in the first lines 
of the statement given at the beginning of this chapter: 
“SPIRIT identifies itself with those of its characteriza¬ 
tions which demonstrate their ability to consciously 
identify themselves with IT.” 

The importance of this Message is at first overlooked 
by many who read the words. It is really a Promise 
and a Message that SPIRIT will identify itself with 
those who recognize their identity with it. In the de¬ 
gree of the recognition and realization of the IDEN- 


THE MASTERY OF BEING. 


193 


TITY by the individual, so will SPIRIT identify and 
manifest itself with and through the individual. As 
man begins to realize what he really IS, he begins to 
be able to manifest that reality and being through his 
individual channels of expression. And, accordingly, 
there begins that “conscious manifestation by Volition 
and Ideation which constitutes the Mastery of Being.” 

The Mastery of Being. 

When man discovers his Identity with SPIRIT he 
begins to manifest Creation on his own account. Ho 
longer a passive instrument, tool, or chessman in the 
Cosmic Life, he becomes a Center of Creative Power 
in himself. It is true that he sees the phenomenal 
world for what it really is; he sees that prizes and 
rewards of life are mere baubles and trinkets; and he 
strives no longer for them for themselves. But, in 
place, of the old illusion, he sees a Creative Purpose in 
the Cosmic Activities, a Meaning in the Universal “Be¬ 
coming,” and he smiles and takes his place again on 
the Stage of Life, playing his part willingly, cheer¬ 
fully, confidently, and understanding^. His peep 
behind the scenes does not interfere with his charac¬ 
terization and the portrayal of his appointed part; on 
the contrary, he plays his part all the better by reason 
of his knowing. He loses all fear of death; he fears 


194 


THE MASTERY OF BEING . 


neither Life nor Death; neither does he seek Death nor 
avoid it. He seeks neither participation in nor renun¬ 
ciation of Life; he simply lives, for to live is the object 
x)f Life. 

As the sense of his real nature and being dawn upon 
him, the sense of his powers begin to manifest in his 
consciousness. He soon learns that his Ideation and 
Volition are real—the same powers with which the 
universe is created and manifested. He finds that his 
Ideation, when vitalized with his Volition, materializes 
and takes on objective reality. He finds that his Ideals 
tend to become Eeal. He discovers that circumstances, 
environment, conditions, and states may be created for 
himself—first the sense of Identity and the belief in 
its power; then the Ideative Picture in the mind; then 
the Volitional Activities of the Will; then the Objec¬ 
tive Manifestation. Thus does man become a Creator 
and build for himself a miniature universe with him¬ 
self as a center. 

But (and this must always be remembered) man 
must never allow himself to become entangled in his 
Creations; he must see them always as Creations and 
must never permit himself to become hypnotized by the 
delusion of their ultimate reality. There is always the 
danger of taking one’s own creations too seriously, just 
as the world is hypnotized into accepting its own mental 


THE MASTERY OF BEING . 


195 


creations as realities. The Master of Being must needs 
learn to detach himself from his creation, and, figura¬ 
tively, to stand aside and see himself act and play his 
part among his creations. Mastery requires the eyes 
to be kept clear of the stinging smoke of illusion. The 
Master of the Show must never allow himself to become 
carried away by the action of the play, lest he become 
the victim rather than the victor. These may be strange 
words to the ears of many, but those whose ears have 
awakened by the Song of Life will readily understand 
them. 

Parting Words. 

And now, students, friends, and fellow-travelers on 
The Path, we come to the time of temporary parting. 
You will nev&r be the same as you ivere before you 
studied this book. You have “built thee more stately 
mansions’’ of thought and will continue to build,— 

“Till thou at length art free, 

Leaving thine outgrown shell by Life’s unresting sea.” 

You may not have accepted the Message, nor have 
perceived the Truth sought to be expressed in these 
lessons. But the spirit of them will remain with you. 
For no one who embarks on the Quest for Truth ever 
is able to permanently relinquish it nor to forsake The 
Path. He may turn away from it, or seek to retrace 


196 


TEE MASTERY OF BEING . 


his steps, and for a time will seem to have left it behind 
forever; but sooner or later again will the hunger for 
Knowledge, and the thirst for Truth, be felt. Again 
will the Sound of the Message penetrate to the ear, 
and again the Pilgrim will resume The Path. As 
Whitman says: “My words will itch in your ears till* 
you understand them.” Once a Truth-Seeker, always 
one! 


“OM, MANI PADME, HUM!” 


FINIS. 



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